Coalesce
by Sayuri-hime
Summary: Four years after the Fourth Ninja War, Sayuri has other problems to deal with and he was definitely not helping. SasukexOC
1. Once Again

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reasinf this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and it's characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Once Again

The sound of crunching leaves could be heard in the quiet forest. The moonlight barely illuminated the area, the steady wind swaying the leaves.

"You're not going to get away!" a deep voice hissed.

Gritting her teeth the girl picked up the pace, running faster through the forest, avoiding obstacles as they came. Her lungs burned, and her legs begged for her to stop running. Out of nowhere she felt something sharp graze her cheek. Turning her head to look over her shoulder, she tripped on a rotting branch. Her face met the hard ground, fingers digging into the moist soil as she pushed herself up.

"I got you." the voice sang, landing above her shoving her down into the ground kunai at her throat. "Time to die."

With a sharp gasp, Sayuri opened her eyes. Nothing but a blank ceiling greeted her, the sunlight barely gracing the room. She shifted her eyes to the open window, panting as she tried to steady her breathing. Something soft brushed her hand, making her jump out of bed, scream lodged in her throat as she scooted up against the wall. The blue blankets slipped off revealing a worn out teddy bear.

Red and blue eyes widened as a wave of relief flooded her. Leaning her head back against the tan wall, she slid down to the ground, shoulders shaking as she did so. Tears rolled down from her cheeks to her neck as she held herself in the empty room.

XXX

Bright green eyes scrutinized the picture frame before them. Thin long fingers slid down the frame taking note of every bump and edge. "Hmm...I'll take this one!" a bubbly voice announced, as the owner of the green eyes turned to the side with a grin to the person on her left. "Don't you think it's cute, Sasuke?"

Beside her, the dark haired ninja glanced at the picture for all of a second. "Hn." he looked away as the rosette took out her wallet and paid the owner of the little shop. Black eyes roamed the town. It looked nothing like it did when he was younger, then again Konoha had been nearly obliterated by Pain, 4 years ago. However there were more buildings and sky scrapers around the town since the last time he visited the village a year ago. Sasuke frowned as he recalled the visit. He was not about to go there right now.

"Isn't it great!" Sakura spoke interrupting his thoughts. "Now we'll have a frame to put our picture in!" she said, linking his arm with hers as she led the way to where ever the girl wanted to drag him to. "It's so great that you're back. I've really missed you." she blushed, green eyes staring at his dark ones.

"Yeah." Sasuke said and looked away earning a small frown from the girl who quickly brushed it off.

"Come on! We haven't gone on an actual date since you first asked me out!" Sakura pulled his arm smiling up at the Uchiha. "You left two months after that too, so I'm going to take advantage of this time." She continued to lead him past all the shops, as they wandered further into the village.

XXX

"You look like shit…again." Hajime deadpanned as he looked down at his female teammate.

"Gee, thanks." Sayuri muttered, pushing past him, moving closer to Diachi. "I wonder how, Kira deals with you." She said referring to the pretty blonde waitress at their tea shop.

"Because she's a beautiful, caring, and a sweet woman, unlike you!" Hajime hissed but got no reaction from the brunette.

Diachi watched his female teammate carefully and frowned. Hajime was right, she did look terrible, but there was really nothing her could do to help unless she said something and asking her would lead them nowhere. He need to wait it out until she decided to speak. In the meantime he figured that he'd keep an eye on her.

"I'm hungry." Sayuri and Hajime turned to Diachi both with raised eyebrows. "Let's go get some Ichiraku's and just...hang out." the tall brunette suggested with a roll of his shoulders.

Hajime crossed his arms and kept his silvery, blue eyes on his friend. "Fine..." he agreed after a minute, catching how Diachi glanced at Sayuri every now and again. "We'll hang out, we've been training every day of the week so far, taking a day off shouldn't be bad."

The two men turned and began heading back to the village and away from the training grounds, pausing when they noticed that Sayuri was not following them. The turned back to find their teammate staring absentmindedly at the trees.

"Hey, brat!" Hajime called out. "Didn't you hears us? Let's go!"

Sayuri looked up and glared. "I heard you already!" she snapped and rushed over to their side.

Beside her Diachi placed his hands behind his head, leaning back slightly. "The village is getting so much bigger..." The tall brunette sighed, eyes wondering around as the got closer to the center.

Hajime nodded in agreement. "Yeah! It's great!" he declared, hand in his pockets.

In between the two taller men, Sayuri looked around her. It was true, the village was changing, more people were coming in, their trades had increased, more jobs had been created. Sayuri smiled, mismatched red and blue eyes turning to the bright blue sky. _We aren't at war anymore. We're all safe.._ She chanted in her head.

"Hey!" a gruff enthusiastic voice caught their attention as the trio reached Ichiraku. They turned simultaneously and watched a tall blonde break away from a hoard of girls to make his way to them.

"Wow..." Diachi whistled. "He's got quite a fan base." Sayuri giggled, and Diachi turned to her in surprise. It had been a while since he had heard her laugh.

"The idiot probably doesn't even know that those girls are fawning over him." she said after her laughter subsided.

"Sayuri, Diachi, Hajime!" The blonde exclaimed, happily waving a hand over his head as he ran to them. "How are you! I haven't seen you around much."

"Well that sort of thing happens, when you put Moriyo-sensei in charge of ANBU." Hajime said, scratching his silver head with a grimace.

"Oh right!" the blonde tapped his chin with a bandaged finger. "She's the new head...Kakashi-sensei didn't waste much time assigning as leader, huh."

"Actually," Diachi began. "The Hokage doesn't choose the head of ANBU. She beat all of us in the selection process." He finished, wincing at the memory of it. He liked having full use of both of his arms, thank you very much.

Naruto's brow furrowed. "You guys always had a weird way of doing things."

"Not really, it's just tradition, Naruto." Sayuri shrugged.

"You would know!" Hajime elbowed her, grinning down at Sayuri. "You're family is the one that came up with it." Sayuri pouted and looked away.

The blonde looked down at her, eyebrow raised as he gave her a once over. "Hey, Sayuri are you-"

"Naruto! Sayuri!" the two ninja stiffened and turned to see Sakura making her way towards them, Sasuke in tow.

"Ah!" Naruto faced the medic with a stiff smile. Beside him, Sayuri bit her lip as the other two approached.

Bright blue eyes seemed to cloud over as they focused on the rosette's arm linked to his best friends. Noticing the change in demeanor, Sayuri placed a reassuring hand on his back. He looked down and saw her give him a small smile. Taking a deep breath he grinned back at the two, pretending everything was fine.

"Oh, hey Diachi, Hajime!" Sakura greeted the two gentlemen and turned her attention back to the blonde and the female brunette. "Look who came back for a few days!" she announced happily while Sasuke stood beside her.

"Sasuke!" Naruto grinned at his friend who nodded to him in acknowledgment. "You've been gone for so long, bastard! When did you get here?"

"Two days ago." Sasuke replied, casting Sayuri a glance. She on the other hand looked at anything but him. "I had something to take care off, today is my off day."

Sayuri noticed Sakura's expectant green eyes on her and put on a smile as well. "It's nice to have you back, Sasuke."

His black orbs shifted to the woman before him, feeling a shiver go down his spine when she said his name. It had been a year since he had last seen her and she looked no better. He gave her a quick once over and noticed that her eyes were rimmed a light pink, she looked smaller than before, fingers nervously played with the hem of her top.

 _Maybe going out for ramen was not a good idea..._ Diachi grimaced, watching his female teammate squirm in place.

"Are you guys going to get ramen?" Naruto finally broke the silence, bright blue eyes shifting from his teammates to Sayuri's group.

"Uh...well..." Hajime laughed picking up on both Sayuri's distress and Diachi's regret. "It looks kinda full we should eat somewhere else." he quickly lied through his teeth.

"What?" Sakura turned her emerald green eyes to restaurant and frowned. "It's not full." Hajime tensed. "There's more than enough room for all of us." she chirped turning back to Sayuri and the boys. "Come on, we should all eat together, it'll be fun we haven't talked in a while!"

"Uh..." Diachi looked to the side, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Actually-"

"Lady Sayuri!" the six ninja turned to see an ANBU land in the middle. "Lady Sayuri, it's good that I found you, Lord Hokage needs for you in his office as soon as possible." Sayuri never felt more relieved in her life. The ANBU then turned to the Uchiha. "Lord Hokage also requests your presence, Sasuke Uchiha." And with that final sentence, Sayuri went right back to square one.

"Huh!?" Sakura exclaimed, grip tightening on Sasuke's arm. "Why him!? He just got here!"

"I am sorry but I was not told why they were needed, I was just told to fetch them." The ANBU bowed apologetically before taking his leave.

"Well then...I guess I should...go." Sayuri mumbled and waved the group goodbye, although with not much effort on her part.

Sasuke pulled away from Sakura, who looked up at him with pleading eyes. He sighed and nodded to the men in the group. "We'll talk tonight." At that Sakura brightened up considerably and nodded her head eagerly.

"Bye Sasuke! See you soon!" She called out as he followed his ex-teammate, the tall man not missing the tightening of Naruto's fists.

XXX

He read, and re-read the scroll in his hands. Kakashi Hatake sighed and asked Moriyo if Sayuri and Sasuke had arrived, but he was replied with an exasperated 'no.' The woman in the room had never seen the silver haired Hokage so anxious before and couldn't help but wonder if whatever was on the scroll that Sasuke Uchiha had given him two days ago, when he arrived, had anything to do with his jitters. He even asked her to send an ANBU out to get them like an errand boy.

There was a knock on the door that snapped both of them out of their thoughts. Moriyo quickly made her way to the door. She turned the nob and pulled the door open, hastily ushering the two ninja inside. Moving to stand beside Kakashi, she turned to the silver haired man waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Sasuke, is what you wrote down on these scrolls accurate?" at the annoyed look he got from the twenty one year old, Kakashi quickly continued. "I mean, that are you absolutely sure about these incidents."

Taking a deep breath so as to not pull the man out of his chair, Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, I had been staying at that village for a while now. And the reports of the missing women, and murders are true."

"Murders?" This was the first time since the long awkward walk to the Hokage tower, that Sayuri spoke to Sasuke. "People are being murdered?"

"Yes." he answered softly.

Moriyo's bright orange eyes focused on Sayuri. Her appearance had definitely not improved, she looked worse than before. _I've been swamped with work with the ANBU, so I haven't had the chance to keep up with her but she definitely does not look well._

"I don't..." Sayuri turned to Kakashi with a questioning look. "Why am I here? This sounds like an issue that you should be discussing with Sasuke, so why am I here?"

"The reason why you're here, is because Sasuke believes Kenji is involved in this." Kakashi replied.

Well that was definitely news for Moriyo. The woman's eyebrows shot up in surprise, turning to Kakashi she crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't you think this is information you should have disclosed to me sooner!?" asked the ANBU Head.

"I'm sorry, but I need these two here, to confirm." Kakashi said before presenting

"Confirm?" Moriyo asked. "Confirm, what?"

Kakashi picked up some papers from his drawer, flipping them over for them to see. Showing them that the papers were, in fact, pictures. "Sasuke is this similar to the way that you found the murdered girls."

Sasuke stepped closer, eyes analyzing every detail. "Yes."

Kakashi turned to Sayuri. "Look at these and tell me if any of them look familiar to you."

Frowning Sayuri took the pictures from her teachers hands. She looked to Moriyo who shrugged and gestured for her to see the pictures. Hesitant, the auburn haired young woman turned her red and blue eyes to the pictures in her hands. She gulped, taking a sharp breath as she looked from one picture to the next. Her hands became clammy, she felt the room spinning.

"Sayuri?" Moriyo stepped closer to the young woman, placing a hand on her shoulder. The dark haired ANBU took the pictures from her hands and took a look for herself. She turned to Kakashi angry. "What the hell is this!?" she slammed the photos down on the desk. When the silver haired jounin didn't respond, Moriyo became more angry. "Kakashi..." she warned.

"Well?" He asked Sayuri, ignoring the seething ANBU.

"They...they look like Saito's...like when I found Saito's body." Sayuri responded. "You think Kenji is behind all this?"

"Well, he did admit to Moriyo that he had killed Saito before he disappeared." Kakashi picked the photos up, fixing them to make them even. "These photos are from another village, about a day from the one you were in, Sasuke. A team brought them to me, reporting the same scenarios. Women going missing, then finding their bodies, faceless."

Sayuri paled. If this really was Kenji, and he was the one kidnapping and killing these women... _What the hell is he doing!?_

"These are also not the only reports. I've had other ninja report back with the same findings, it wasn't until recently that I asked for pictures to be taken to use as comparison. We've tracked these incidents in the outskirts of the Fire Nation near the borders of the Hidden Rain to Hidden Water Fall..." Kakashi pulled out a map and laid it out on his desk. There were 7 red 'X' marks on it. "They started by Hidden Rain and make a linear pattern." He traced a finger from one 'X' to the next. "All of these villages are within a day or two from each other. We think the next strike is here." He tapped at a circled 'X' on the map.

"This one is by Hidden Grass territory." Moriyo whispered, leaning forward to look at it. "You think that he'll strike there?"

"Yes." Kakashi nodded. "Even if it's not Kenji, we need to find out who's doing this and stop it." He laced his fingers together and looked at the two young ninja across from him. "Now, the reason why you're here, Moriyo is because I need Sayuri to head out there."

Moriyo frowned. "Sayuri? Why her?" She asked, feeling protective over the girl. "If Kenji is out there, doing all this do you really think it's wise to send Sayuri there. He was working with Obito when he had been under Madara's influence, don't you think that's putting her in unnecessary danger!?"

"I realize that, but Sayuri will be able to tell whether the attacker really is Kenji or not. For all we know this could be a copy cat." Kakashi replied, turning to the auburn haired teen. "Sayuri, you were with him for a couple of years, you know his chakra, correct?"

Sayuri gave him a short nod. "Like the back of my hand…unfortunately." she replied, mumbling the last part to herself.

"Good, then you will be able to better track him and detect him inside the small village. I know it's a lot to ask for, but I want whoever is doing this stopped."

"Yes, sir." Sayuri nodded.

"And you, Sasuke..." hearing his name the Uchiha turned to his former teacher. "I know this is a lot to ask, with you just having arrived two days ago and all, but I need you go with her to help." Sayuri bit her lip, eyes wide and on the ground. Beside her Sasuke stiffened. "It'll be an undercover mission. Alone, Sayuri would draw too much attention to herself, with you it'd be easier to come up with a story. Of course the two of you would have to change your appearances and names, but I think I can trust the two of you to do this quickly and quietly."

Sasuke cast a side glance at the 19 year old before answering. "Hn..."

"Well, Moriyo?" Kakashi started. "Do you agree?"

"Do I agree..." Moriyo muttered. "Now, he asks if I agree..." she grumbled crossing her arms under her chest. She watched Sayuri for a moment and sighed. "It's our best option, I suppose." she then turned to Sasuke who looked at her indifferent as usual. "Take good care of her."

"OK, then." Kakashi leaned back in his chair watching the two ninja, with careful eyes. "Sasuke Uchiha and Sayuri Marihasha..." While Sayuri automatically stood at attention, Sasuke shifted his weight to his right leg, leaning towards the girl. _Somethings never change..._ Kakashi thought with a small smile. _No matter how hard you try to go against it._ "You two will be going on a mission to Hidden Grass, find out who's doing all these murders and stop them."

"Sir!" Sayuri replied, Sasuke nodded.

"Your mission starts tomorrow. You're dismissed." And with that the two turned around and walked out the door.

Once it clicked closed, Moriyo turned to Kakashi. "Do you really think it'll be OK to send them out together?"

Kakashi nodded. "You didn't see them when they were children. The two work well together."

"But, that's the thing, Kakashi..." Moriyo sighed, brushing s stray hair behind her ear. "They're not kids anymore."

"I know."

XXX

Standing outside the tower feeling the cool night air the two stood side by side.

"Right, well...then we should go home then." Sayuri said stiffly.

Sasuke looked to the side. "I need to meet up with Sakura."

"Oh." Sayuri began to pull at the sleeve of her sweater. "Well, have a good night, Sasuke and we'll leave at 7 sharp."

He nodded and he was soon left to stand alone by the tower. Watching as Sayuri quickly leapt from one building to the next, putting distance between them as fast as she possibly could.

 **A.N.**

 **Please don't kill me! I know it's not what you all expected but everything has its answer and it will get better, I promise! If you're still willing to stick with me I hope you enjoy this chapter and future ones as well!**

 **Oh as for ages, this takes place 4 years after the war, that means that the rookie 9 are all 21 since the war ended when they turned 17. Diachi, Hajime, Tenten and Lee are 22 and Sayuri is 19 as shes 2 years younger than the rookie 9 and 3 years younger than the other 4 ninja.**

 **Please review and let me know how I did!**

 **Thank you and until next time!**


	2. Unaligned

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ __ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and it's characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Unaligned

"I got you!" a voice sang, there was a weight on her back and a kunai at her neck. She could feel the sickening grin on the man as he pressed the sharp object closer to her throat.

Sayuri gasped, same white ceiling as before greeted her, like it did every night. Pushing herself to a sitting position with her shaking arms, Sayuri leaned her head forward tears prickling at the comers of her eyes. She glanced out the window, again the sun was just rising. Brushing the tears away with the backs of her hands, she swung her legs over the bed. The cold wood sent a shiver up her spine, but she ignored it and moved to her bag.

Red and blue eyes inspected each item. She counted and recounted her kunai and shuriken, and packed extra warm clothes for the travel. She looked over her shoulder and saw the old brown teddy bear, pushing herself up from her seated position on the ground, she walked over to the bear and picked it up. She inspected the stitching of the ear and then brushed it brown coat. After a second of thought she stuffed it into her bag.

The clock on her wall said it was t was 6:40. Quickly she moved to her closet put on her clothes, grabbed her white cloak and rushed out the door.

XXX

Sasuke stood at the gates, hands at his sides and stared at the coloring sky. His black pack, like his black cloak hung on his shoulders. The morning air was cold and he could already feel the tip his nose turn red. He rubbed it absentmindedly as he waited for his teammate. Could he call her that? He wondered.

When he sensed her, she was not alone. Moriyo, Diachi, and Hajime had accompanied the nineteen year old on her way to the gates. He watched as her silver teammate tugged at her pony tail to get her attention, then how she swatted his hand away and scowled up at the man. Diachi laid a hand on her shoulder, and he could hear him tell Sayuri to calm down. Sasuke eyed the mans hand on Sayuri and he felt himself frown, jealousy gripping at his throat, but quickly did away with it when the four ninja noticed his presence.

"Good morning." Diachi greeted politely, taking his hand off of Sayuri. She in turn, tightened her grip on the strap of her back pack. They looked like a family dropping off their youngest sibling.

"I told them about the mission. In case something we don't hear from you within three days, they'll come looking for you." Moriyo said, crossing her arms bellow her chest.

Sasuke glared at the woman. "You're taking precautions in case I try somethig." he nearly snapped, they thought that he would hurt her!?

"Well she was _Kenji's_ target during the war." Moriyo replied calmly. "It has nothing to do with you, personally."

"She won't be getting in to trouble." Sasuke replied, reigning in his anger.

" _She_ has a name." Sayuri butted in. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here." moving to stand beside the Uchiha she turned to her team. "And for the record, _I_ can take care of myself." She turned to Sasuke, and without really looking at him she spoke. "We should go."

Sasuke nodded and followed the brunette as she sped toward the trees leaving the other ninja behind.

XXX

The morning had turned to afternoon and they were still far from their target. The two had stopped occasionally for rest and for but other than that they said nothing to each other. Sasuke didn't know if he preferred it that way or if he should say something.

Sayuri suddenly stopped and he paused on a branch higher than her own. "We should eat..." she said, taking note of the sun's position in the sky. "We made good progress, but we won't be able to reach the village until tomorrow."

Sasuke nodded and followed her in her descent. "I still think we should keep going, just a few more hours before setting up camp." he said.

Sayuri dropped her bag and sat next to it, she looked up at him then took out a scroll that contained a map. After a brief pause in which she traced her finger over the paper she rolled it back up and tucked it away. "OK, we'll keep going, but first we need to eat."

Sasuke sat down a few feet away from her and took out his own lunch. Sakura had been kind enough to make him something before he left on the mission. He frowned, thinking back to the conversation they had last night but pushed it aside. Looking at the box he opened the lid and ate the food without much hesitation. Across from him Sayuri bit into her own onigiri, eyes wondering the area.

"We're getting closer to the border." Sayuri mused as she took a sip of water.

"The closer we are the more Grass ninja we'll see. They tend to wonder around these parts." Sasuke added.

Sayuri frowned, bringing her half eaten, rice ball back to the box. "We've had some problem with them recently. They've been raiding some of our genin and chunin teams." She took a deep breath. "They've been causing a lot of trouble for everyone. We've been getting reports of other ninja from smaller countries taking advantage of our 'peace.'" she looked off to the side in concern. "I wonder if Kenji has something to do with that too."

"I wouldn't be surprised." At her questioning look he continued. "He worked as a spy for Obito, trying to get to you so that you'd become the ten tails juinchiruki, remember? And now there are women being kidnapped and found dead, in the same manner that indicates his _style_ of killing."

"Yes… but, he never really _did_ anything." was her troubled reply. "He took care of me." she whispered but he still heard her.

Sasuke eyed her carefully, putting his chopsticks down. "He doesn't have to outright _do_ anything to betray you. He was a spy, probably informing Obito of your every move."

"I see.." the two fell back into the silence before she decided to speak again, desperate to change the subject. Looking for anything she saw the napkin around the bento and asked, "Is she a good cook?" A question she regretted asking the second it left her mouth.

He looked down at the emptied box in his hands and, recognizing what she was doing, he shook his head. "Not really. I was hungry though."

Sayuri watched him carefully for a second then averted her gaze. "She's good for you." he heard her say but before he could reply she was already packing her bag again. She turned to look over her shoulder, watching him do the same.

"Let's go." he said once he picked up the bag again. "There's a small inn a few hours up ahead. We shouldn't be out in the cold like this."

"Right." she agreed. The temperature was dropping again and it wouldn't do for them to be outside during the night.

XXX

The sun was beginning to set when they arrived. The old woman looked pleased to have customer and gladly gave them their room keys. The two quietly made their way to their rooms, stopping at the bright red doors before them. They were right next to each other and that worked out perfectly. If either one of them noticed something wrong, they wouldn't have to go far to reach the other.

Opening the door Sayuri stepped inside, hearing Sasuke close the door behind him on the other side. She gently shut the door, and moved to lock it. Placing her bag on the small chair she pulled her hair out of the pony tail and massaged her head. Taking a look a the bed she sighed and allowed her self to fall face first, on it.

"Why did it have to be him..." Sayuri said, her voice muffled by the pillow. Turning on her back she watched the fan move in a circles providing a small breeze in the warm room. "I just need to get this mission done." she covered her eyes with her arm. "Kenji...what the hell are you doing!" she asked herself.

XXX

Sasuke was sharpening his katana when he heard the water to the bath run next door to him. He paused and placed the sword down beside him and listened to the running water. _She's taking a bath._ He thought to himself then picked up the katana and sheathed it. _Think of something else..._ He ordered himself, his mind betraying him and going back to the running water. With a low growl Sasuke picked up the weapon and stood up, heading to the door for a late night training session.

Finding a suitable spot, not too far from the inn, he began going through motions, hacking at the trees trying to get the image of a certain girl in the shower, out of his head. He bit his lip and spinned, ramming the katana into a tree trunk. She always had that affect on him. Making him think about her when he really shouldn't. And since last year it had become too much. He had originally thought of staying if...he paused his train of thought. No, that was in the past, and he couldn't think about that now.

The raven haired Uchiha, slashed at a tree once more, sweat rolling down his sides, the cold air burning his lungs, but he didn't care. What he cared about was finishing this mission and of keeping Sayuri out of harms way. To do that he had to have a clear head.

 _Find Kenji, take him down, keep Sayuri safe._ He repeated to himself as he walked back to the inn. Hoping that by now the auburn haired girl was done and he could go on with his night.

XXX

Crickets were chirping outside of the window when his eyes suddenly opened. He was sleeping soundly until something, or rather someone caught his attention. He pushed himself up on his arm and looked around him. There was a pulsating chakra and his foggy mind was trying to figure out where it was coming from. He fully sat up and ran a hand through his long, black hair. He stopped and turned to look at the wall.

"Sayuri…?" he asked himself. He made his way to his door, opened it and was met by the cold winter air. He moved to the front of her door and lifted his hand, pausing just above it. Maybe he should just let it be. He thought to himself but then felt her chakra rise up again and decided to go ahead and check any way. He knocked twice but received no answer.

With a frown, Sasuke went back into his room, picked up a kunai from his pouch and stepped back outside. He knocked twice on her door, this time a bit louder than the first but still no answer. Taking the kunai in his hand he checked that no one was out before picking on the lock. It clicked open and he let himself in.

"Sayuri?" he said, voice low and just above a whisper. He walked further inside and saw her backpack on the chair. He turned to look at the bed and watched her turn towards him, eyes closed. The sheets had bunched up around her to leave one leg uncovered. His eyes ran up her leg to the black shorts, following up to the blue long sleeve top, and finally to her troubled face. Activating his Sharingan, he took a look at her chakra net work and found it to be acting unstable. It rose and fell abruptly and each time it did, Sayuri groaned or turned.

 _She's having a nightmare._ He thought and quietly walked up to her, foot stepping on something soft. He looked down and saw a worn teddy bear, the same he had seen her bring to their first C rank mission to the Land of Waves. He picked it up and put it on her nightstand along with the kunai, before pressing a palm against her cheek. _No temperature._ He noted and gently slid it down her neck to her shoulder.

"Sayuri…" he spoke in a whisper gently shaking her. "Wake up." The girl groaned beneath him, he glanced at her lips but quickly looked away. This was not the time. "Sayuri." he tried again, louder.

She gasped, eyes blinking open. For a brief moment she looked lost and afraid, until he saw recognition in her eyes.

"Sasuke?" she asked, glancing down at his hand. He quickly pulled away and stepped back and away from the bed. "What...How did you?" she looked to her right and found a glinting kunai that did not belong to her. She sat up with a frown, the sheets pooling at her lap, legs shifting under her. "Why are you in my room?" she said slowly, eyes narrowing at him.

"You were having a nightmare." he said and moved to pick up the kunai, but she quickly snatched it away pointing it at him.

"And you came into my room just for _that_!?" she bit out. "People have nightmares, Sasuke, just in case you didn't know." He shouldn't be in her room at all. She wanted him nowhere near her at the moment.

"Your chakra was spiking as well." he watched her, his Sharingan deactivating, the red fading into black. "I tried knocking but you didn't answer. So I came inside." he said without much emotion. "Did you think your life was in danger...?" He asked glancing at the kunai in her hand.

Sayuri dropped the kunai on the bed and wrapped an arm around herself. "You should go back to bed, Uchiha." she said turning to see the moon through the window. "We have an early day tomorrow."

"Sayuri, those chakra spikes just now are not normal." he tried to reason.

"I'm fine." she said firmly, letting her arms fall to her sides.

He watched her carefully, knowing full well it was useless to try to get her to talk. Without another word he stalked off, opened the door letting the cold wind in] and left closing it firmly behind him. It wasn't until she heard the shutting of the door next door that Sayuri breathed out, running a shaking hand through her hair.

XXX

It was 7 in the morning when the two checked out of the inn. The old woman happily received the keys and bid them farewell. Sasuke and Sayuri rushed through the forest in awkward silence. The closer to the north border they got, the colder it seemed to get. Getting a bad feeling, Sayuri tilted her head up to the sky as she landed on another branch.

The sky was slowly taking on a gray hue to it. _It's only noon..._ She thought with a slight frown, pulling her coat closer to her. _But it's so cold._

Sasuke who had also taken note of the change in whether suddenly stopped. Sayuri absentmindedly kept going, only to bump into the man. He caught her and himself just in time, using his chakra on his feet to keep a good hold on the tree branch, and his arm to keep her from falling over.

"Oh!" Sayuri stumbled back. "Sorry." she apologized.

He stared at her for a moment and noticed the slight circles under her eyes but decided not to comment on them. He turned away from her and crouched low before leaping off and landing on the ground. Confused Sayuri followed him and watched as he crept towards a couple of bushes, then turning back to her he waved her over. Quietly she moved closer and peeked through the leaves, eyes wide in surprise.

"Is that..." she turned her head to Sasuke who nodded.

"It's the town..." he said. "We should change our appearance before we head out. If Kenji really is here, he'll recognize us in an instant."

Pulling back the nineteen year old formed a single seal. In an instant the auburn haired young woman was gone, replaced by a short black haired, blue eyed girl wearing Sayuri's clothes.

"Is that who you transform into, nowadays?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly.

Blinking up at him the woman's eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Nothing." he shrugged and formed a half seal with his hand. The tall Uchiha was replaced with a young man with sharp silver eyes, and black hair that was tied at the nape of his neck. He resembled Itachi but without the marks on the sides of his nose. "Let's go."

Finding the dirt road that led to the village the two ninja walked side by side. The wind blew harder and dark clouds rolled over the sky. Some of the shop owners had begun to close down, hurriedly entering their homes, until there were only a few people left. Some stray Grass ninja looked their way with curious eyes but the two ignored them.

"We need to find a place to stay." Sayuri said, hand tightening over the strap of her bag.

Sasuke looked around him, being the taller of the two, eyes landing on a hotel further down the road. "There." he nodded up ahead and the two quickly made their way there.

An elderly gentleman with a small scowl looked up from his paper eying the two newcomers. "May I help you."

"We need a place to stay." Sasuke spoke up. On his right Sayuri stood a couple of feet away, looking around, noticing a small restaurant further down the hall.

The old man's green eyes slid from the tall long haired man to the young woman standing next to him. "This isn't a brothel."

"What!?" Sayuri exclaimed waving her hands. "No! We're-"

"Married." Sasuke cut her off. He ignored the look she sent his way. "We have been traveling for a while and we need a place to stay."

 _What the fuck does he think he's doing!?_ Sayuri thought biting her lip.

The man pursed his lips, eyes shifting from the man to the woman. "You're married…" he repeated incredulous. The two were a considerable distance apart, and the woman looked like she wanted to murder the tall man. "Really now?" he was not amused.

 _Screw it!_ Sayuri thought and trying to not look so stiff, inched closer to the Uchiha, gripping his black cloak. "Please, we're tired and cold. You see we came from the outskirts of the Lightning Country, our village was destroyed by a fire and he found a job at the Land of Earth. We're only going to stay a couple of nights, just to regain our energy before we continue on our journey."

Raising a brow the old man looked at the tall man who stood, a bit stiff at the proximity. However the woman was easy on the eyes, and when she pleaded with those big blue eyes of hers, it only made her seem more appealing. "All right." he said, and turned to get a key. "You two got lucky too, there's a snow storm coming and all of my rooms had already been rented out, but I have one more." He placed the key. "How long is your stay?"

"A week." Sasuke answered taking a small pouch out. "How much?"

"180,000 yen."

Sayuri's mouth dropped open. "Come again?"

"Here." Sasuke quickly paid for the room and got the key from the man that happily counted the money. "Let's go." he gently guided her down the hall leading her to their room on the third floor of the building.

"He's charging nearly 30,000 yen a night!" she hissed and waited for Sasuke to open the door, following him inside.

"I'll just tell Kakashi to reimburse me." Replied the Uchiha.

"And what was _that_!?" She said dropping her pack unceremoniously on the ground turning to Sasuke who closed the door behind him. "Why the hell did you tell him we were married!?" The jutsu disappearing leaving the real her to stand across from the now normal Sasuke.

"He thought you were a prostitute." he shrugged. "I rectified the situation without drawing too much attention to ourselves."

"Are you kidding me!? You could have said we were siblings!"

"Does the idea of being married to me bother you that much?" he asked eyes narrowed down at her. Sayuri's eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth but nothing came out. She was left speechless. "Forget I said anything." he said gruffly and turned to the room. "There's only one bed."

Turning her attention to the room she bit her lip. "Well...at least there's a couch" she said, looking at the piece of furniture, that looked anything but comfortable.

"I'll take the couch." he offered.

Watching him set his bag down, Sayuri tugged at the sleeve of her coat. "How about we take turns?"

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Turns?"

"It wouldn't be fair if I took the bed during our stay when you paid for the room." She said trying to ignore the fact that she felt sorry for her earlier outburst. _No! He's dating Sakura, he really should have thought of another excuse!_ She reassured herself.

"Suit yourself." he said turning away from her.

Looking around she moved to open the blinds and what she saw took her by surprise. "He wasn't kidding about the snow storm." she said, in the few minutes they had been inside the building, the roads had been covered in snow, white flakes fell heavily unto the ground and some hitting the window making light tapping noises.

"Great." Sasuke mumbled and watched Sayuri lean closer to the window. _This is not going to work out..._ He thought and moved to the bed grabbing two pillows, and the extra blanket.

 **A.N.**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews! I absolutely loved them! So here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I have most of what I want to happen planned out already, so the updates will probably come faster than usual. Thank you all for the support!**

 **Please Review! Thank you!**


	3. Lead

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ __ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Lead

Sasuke turned to his side uncomfortably. He could already feel a kink on his neck developing in the few hours he had slept. The room was silent, and dark, shifting again he tried to go back to sleep but found that he couldn't. The couch was too small. He slowly sat up, and almost sighed when he heard the light tapping against the window.

 _The snow hasn't let up…_ He thought as he ran his hand through his hair. It had gotten slightly longer, hitting the nape of his neck, not really spiking up in the back like it used to when he was younger, but just enough. His bangs were longer, but they weren't long enough to cover his eyes, just swept to his left side. He sighed and rolled his shoulders and looked up.

"You're up." was all he said to the brunette sitting on the bed, worn out teddy bear sitting beside her. He glanced at the window and found the moon still up, his eyes shifted to the clock on the wall, 1:30am. "It's a bit too early for you, don't you think?"

Sayuri looked away from the window she had been staring out of, to him and shrugged. "Yeah," she offered a small smile. "So?"

He felt his eyebrow twitch at the reply but said nothing. His mismatched black and rinnegan purple eyes shifted to the stuffed animal next to her. "Do you always take that thing on missions?"

Sayuri looked down at the bear. "Neji gave it to me as a present a long time ago." she whispered.

Sasuke looked away and clenched his fists. _The Hyūga…_ He bit his lip and stood up to stretch once done he padded over to the window to look at the small village trying to hide his aggravation. _It's always him._

"Hey," she called.

"Hn."

"You should take the bed." his eyes widened for a second but he quickly composed himself and turned to face the konoichi just as she swung her legs over the bed. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep much."

"Sayuri..." he started, eyes following her small form walk to the couch, setting the bear at the end. "Have you talked to someone about those nightmares?"

She visibly tensed but tried very hard to appear normal, failing miserably. "Go back to bed, Sasuke, we have a long day tomorrow."

"If those nightmares are interrupting your sleep then-"

"I don't want to talk about that right now. Go to sleep." she said through clenched teeth and pulled the covers over her head, turning away from him.

He clenched his jaw and glared at the auburn haired girl. Exhaling slowly, he walked over to the bed and pulled the covers over him. "You're acting childish, Marihasha."

"No one asked you, Uchiha." he heard her say, though her voiced was muffled by the covers.

XXX

Sometimes he found that he missed his left arm. Like now for example, as he waited for his teammate to come out of the rest room, he would really like to cross his arms over his chest but he couldn't and it slightly frustrated him. Maybe he should have taken Tsunade up on the offer to get a new arm. He frowned, no he needed this, to remind him of what he did.

Sasuke shifted his weight to his right foot as he stood against the wall, head inclined towards the window. The snow settled down for a bit, but not by much. There were people moving about, and that was good. They needed to ask questions...well he'd use other means to get a more direct answer but no one had to know that except for him...and maybe his partner. The door opened and out came Sayuri, light dark circles under her eyes. He sighed, he doubted she had slept at all.

Quickly forming the single seal her real form disappeared. In her place was his blue eyed, short haired, 'wife.' Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and transformed as well.

"Let's go." he said and moved to the door, the woman following closely behind.

XXX

It was well past noon and Sayuri sighed next to him. A small white cloud forming from her breath as she pulled her red coat closer to her. "This is getting us nowhere." she nearly huffed. Blue eyes on the old man who had a far off look on his face. She looked at Sasuke, who's sharingan was still activated. "Seriously, we can't keep stopping people to put them under genjutsu someone will get suspicious."

The man's red eye shifted back to the gray color of his temporary identity. "Let's go, before he comes too." he said taking her by the arm and nearly dragging the girl out of the forest.

They had stopped six civilians and three ninjas already and none had seen anyone suspicious, but did confirm hearing about the dead women, and the state that they were found in. That, however, didn't help them with anything. Each time they would get the same answers, but no one had any idea of who had kidnapped or murdered the women in the previous towns.

"We need to ask the villagers." she said, pulling her arm back. "It'd go a lot faster if we split up."

"This guy could possibly be after you, and you want to split up." he said calmly, but the look he gave her let her know what he really thought about the idea.

"Well, first of all," she raised a finger. "I don't _look_ like myself, or have you forgotten? Second of all," she lifted another finger. "I changed my chakra so that it's not recognized by him, and third of all," a third finger was in the air. "I'm and ANBU, and can take care of myself...ass hole." she hissed and turned away from him, walking towards the village but stopped and turned back to him one hand on her hip. "And if you don't like my idea that's _your_ problem, but _I_ want to get this done and over with as soon as possible. Doing it your way will only drag this week out."

He stared at her not giving her any indication that he was offended in any way. "Fine." his tone was tight. "Do it your way, but keep in mind," he walked closer to her and when he was directly in front of her, he leaned down so that he was at eye level to her. "Kenji, or whoever it is that's doing this is hunting down _women_. So be careful."

Sayuri and Sasuke stood opposite sides of each other, openly glaring at each other so much that the same old man they had placed under genjutsu, thought he saw sparks fly as he passed them, all the while feeling as if he had seen the two before. Sasuke and Sayuri turned away and while one nearly stomped away, the other quietly but stiffly headed the opposite direction.

Glancing all around her as she walked down the village, Sayuri paused in front of a small shop. Deciding to enter on a whim, she was surprised at how warm it was inside. She sighed in content as her near frozen fingers were quickly getting their feeling back.

"Oh, good afternoon!" a young woman waved. She was pretty, light brown hair, hazel eyes, and kind smile. "Are you looking for anything in particular?" she gestured around her, and Sayuri saw that the store had various fruits and vegetables.

"Oh, no I'm just looking." Sayuri smiled.

"Well, if you'd like anything just get the basket next to you and pick out what you like." Sayuri glanced down and saw a straw woven basket. She glanced at the smiling young woman then leaned down to pick it up.

She made her way to the apples and rubbed her chin. _They all look good!_ She thought, and chanced a glance at the teen at the counter, who was reading a book, then back the to the rest of the store. "Slow day?" she asked, and the young girl jumped, her book falling over the counter with a light thud.

"Oh!" she quickly straightened up. "Well, yes...most people did their shopping yesterday...you know, snow storm and all." she laughed and scratched her head, obviously still embarrassed by her jumping.

"I see..." Sayuri smiled and bent down to pick up the red book. She glanced at the title and raised an eyebrow at the blushing girl. "Icha Icha Paradise?" The girl nearly screamed, snatching the book from Sayuri's hand. "It's alright." Sayuri laughed waving a hand over her face. "I won't tell anyone."

"R-really?" the young woman asked, hazel eyes big and pleading.

Sayuri giggled. "Yes." she went back to the apples and began picking the red ones, all under the careful gaze of the young woman.

"Miss?" The girl asked and Sayuri hummed. "I'm sorry...I know it's none of my business but…." Sayuri titled her head to the girl. "Are you the one who came here with her husband from the Lightning Country?"

Sayuri's blue eyes widened. "You know about me and Sa..." she cleared her throat. "...My husband?" she almost winced at the word.

The young woman nodded and laughed. "Word travels fast around here."

"Good to know." Sayuri said slowly.

"So where is he?"

"Who?" she asked absentmindedly as she went back to picking apples.

"Your husband."

Sayuri nearly dropped the bright red fruit in her hand. "Oh...well he decided to go on ahead and look around in case he found something he…liked." She looked off to the side. _More like another genjutsu victim._ Sayuri thought with a grimace.

"He is?" the young woman leaned forward. "Some of the women say he's quite handsome...NOT LIKE I WOULD KNOW OF COURSE!" She quickly added, waving her hands in front of her face.

Sayuri laughed nervously. "It's fine."

Clearing her throat, the brunette became serious all of a sudden. "But he really should be with you."

"With me?" Sayuri asked, now the girl had her full attention.

"Yes!" she glanced around and waved Sayuri over. Slowly she complied. "Women have been disappearing in the other villages. They've found them dead after a couple of days." she whispered.

"Where…did you hear that?" Sayuri asked, taken by surprise.

"Some of the travelers would mention it when they came by the store." She whispered.

"Oh!" Sayuri tried her best to look shocked. "Does anyone know who's doing it?" To her dismay the girl shook her head. "I see…Well what about you?" she asked. "You're here by yourself and running a shop aren't you scared?"

The girl looked down. "Well a little…But not too much, I mean from what they said is that all the girls are beautiful, I'm rather plain, no one would take me."

Sayuri frowned. "Don't sell yourself too short. You should still have someone to walk you home."

"Well, my boyfriend did, but he had to go and do a delivery so he won't be back for another few days." She placed her hands on the book and looked down sadly. "Honestly this isn't my book, it's his. I just found it when I was cleaning and I thought it'd be fun to read but…" she blushed. "I didn't know how…how…."

"Perverted it was?" Sayuri offered and the girl nodded. Sayuri offered her a hand, and the girl's questioning look she spoke. "My name is Iriai." The girl blinked and took Sayuri's hand.

"I'm Kukiko."

"Well, Kukiko, when do you close your store?"

Kukiko laughed. "At seven, that's when I close and leave for home."

"We'll be here." Kukiko gave her a look of surprise.

"You, and your husband?"

Sayuri nodded. "Of course, it's not safe to be walking around at night by yourself, especially with the murders."

Kukiko gave her a bight toothy smile. "Oh, thank you! You're the first to offer!" she leaned forward with a nervous look. "I've been actually terrified to go out at night with all of what's going on!"

Sayuri smiled and placed the basket on the counter. "Well, you won't have to worry about that. My…husband and I will be staying here for about a week. We'll walk you until your boyfriend returns."

"Oh! Thank you!" Kukiko jumped up and down, clapping happily. She began putting the apples in bags as Sayuri wondered over to the other side of the store. "Iriai?" she heard Kukiko ask. "Did you want the tomatoes too?"

"Uh…" Sayuri stared at the bright, smooth fruit and gently picked up four ripe ones and took them to the counter. "Yeah. These too."

Kukiko smiled. "I'll give those to you for free."

Sayuri's eyes widened. "I shouldn't."

"Oh, don't worry about it!" she took the fruit from her hands and placed them in a separate bag. "Consider it a thank you for the offer." Sayuri bit her lip and nodded, gladly paying for the apples and taking the two bags.

XXX

Sayuri walked around the small village taking note of the small number of people that walked past her. She began to realize, by the odd looks that she received that what Kukiko had said was true. Word traveled fast in this village. The sky above had turned a gloomy, gray color, and the temperature was dropping. Her coat did enough to keep her from freezing to death but it was still not enough.

"Maybe I should think about buying another coat…" Sayuri murmured, cupping her chin in thought as she walked. She had gone into other shops, but no one had been as open as Kukiko had, then again out of all the shop owners she was the youngest. So maybe she was less fearful and welcoming. _Even with the war being over and all the countries working together for one purpose, it really did nothing for the smaller regions._ She watched a group of grass ninja, about her age, walk her way. They eyed her suspiciously for a few moments before dismissing her completely.

Picking up her pace she decided it was time to look for Sasuke, maybe he had taken her advice and began asking around the village itself rather than the incoming travelers. When she did find him it was evening, and even though she couldn't see the sun setting the sky was turning darker and darker still. He was standing by a teahouse and the snow had started to fall again, coating the road. Silently she made her way to him, standing beside him as he looked across the street towards a restaurant.

"Let's go inside." He said after a moment of silence. Sayuri looked at him but nodded and followed the tall Uchiha inside. The woman that greeted them blushed as Sasuke asked for a booth near the exit.

The two sat down where another woman came up to them to place menus on their table. Glancing at Sasuke several times and fumbling over her words as she asked took their order for their drinks. Sayuri leaned forward to see a group of women huddled near the middle of the restaurant whispering, and blushing all the while casting Sasuke side glances. Sayuri raised an eyebrow at Sasuke who looked down at the menu as if nothing was the matter.

"You work fast." She said as she picked up the menu and began to go over the listed items.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, placing the menu down and raising a brow at her.

"I mean, the girls, they're all fawning over you like they always do." She shrugged, blue eyes on the Okonomiyaki. She peeked at him over the menu and shifted her eyes to the girls still giggling about him in a not so discreet manner.

"I'm not interested in them." He gave her a pointed look. Sayuri hummed and nodded, placing the menu down. He glanced at the bags sitting next to her and looked back at her. Noticing this, she picked up one bag and gave it to him. With a questioning look he opened it. "Apples?"

"Oh!" she snatched the bag from his hands and offered the other in its place. "I meant to give you this one."

Again he opened the paper bag and looked up at her. "Tomatoes."

Sayuri looked away, feeling her face warm. "I…I'm sorry about calling you an ass hole. It was childish of me." She heard him place the bag beside him and she turned back to him. "You do still like tomatoes, right." Sasuke's gaze soften a bit as he nodded. "Great!" she sighed.

"Are you ready to order?" A sultry voice made the two ninja turned to see a new waitress, blonde hair, green eyes, and very well endowed. Sayuri looked her up and down.

 _Did she open the cleavage of her uniform more?_ Sayuri wondered as she looked behind the tall woman to the other waitress all of whom looked rather sad looking a sticks in their hands, their white kimono styled tops pulled tight across their chests, covering their cleavage. _Did they draw sticks to see who would take his order!?_ Sayuri felt her eyebrow twitch and turned to look up at the blonde that smirked down at Sasuke, ignoring Sayuri completely. _Well then…_

The woman leaned closer to Sasuke, giving him a full view of her assets. He looked away and slid his hand over to Sayuri's taking it in his. "What do you want, dear?" he said calmly.

Sayuri looked down at their hands. "Uh…" she looked up at the woman, who turned to her not too happy. "I'll have the Okonomiyaki." The woman gave Sayuri a once over and pursed her lips and wrote down her order.

"And for you?" she asked, green eyes shifting to Sasuke, coy smile on her red lips.

"Sukiyaki." He replied not giving her another glance, pulling away from Sayuri to give the waitress their menus. Sayuri saw the woman gasp in shock at Sasuke's dismissal as she took the menus and turned away, swaying her hips as she did so.

"That's one way to get rid of someone." Sayuri muttered.

"We're not here for that." He said plainly and gestured to the booth on the other side. "The two men, one with a red coat and the bald one.." Sayuri's eyes landed on a man with black hair, in a red coat talking to a bald man across from him. She turned back to him and tilted her head. "I've been asking around, a lot of the people I talked to say that man arrived 6 days before we did."

"Ok…so?"

"Think." He sat back and cast a glance at the men. "It took me a day to return to Konoha to give Kakashi my report. Two days for him to get another lead and call us to his office, a day and a half for us to get to this village. All of the murders happened in villages that were about a day from each other."

Sayuri frowned. Just then their waitress set their teas down, glaring at Sayuri but smiling at Sasuke. "That would give whoever is doing this enough time to move on to the next village, this village…if Kakashi-sensei is right." She said when the blonde left. Sayuri picked up her tea and blew on it.

"The timeline and the villagers point to the red coat."

Sayuri pursed her lips and rested her chin on her hand. Eying the men as they ordered another round of sake. "What about the bald one?" she whispered, shifting her eyes to him.

"His companion arrived the day before us."

Frowning Sayuri gave him a pointed look. "How did you get all that information?" All she got as a response was a flash of his sharingan eye as he lifted the tea mug to his lips. Sayuri took a deep breath and rolled her eyes at the Uchiha. "Just make sure you don't get caught."

"Who do you think you're talking to." Sayuri met his gaze at that. It almost felt like he was teasing her…almost.

"Here you go!" the blonde waitress interrupted setting down Sasuke's plate first then Sayuri's. She winked at Sasuke before sauntering off.

"That's definitely interesting." She said as she snapped her chopsticks apart. "We'll keep an eye on them." Sasuke nodded his head once and began eating, eyes trained on the two across from them.

"I also met someone, she works at a store, and told me about the disappearances." She said between bites. Sasuke looked up at her and sat back. "Villagers and travelers talk to her, so it'll be easier for us to get information without resorting to certain…tactics."

Ignoring the jab Sasuke turned to her. "Who is it?" he asked, picking up his tea.

"Her name is Kukiko. We'll be walking her home until her boyfriend comes back, every day at seven."

Sasuke raised a brow. " _We'll_ walk her?"

She shrugged. "She told me not to walk around the village by myself because of the disappearances. I would do it myself, but it'd be strange to her if I did. She might become suspicious." She was trying to play it off, but Sasuke had been right, whoever was doing this was hunting down women and it wouldn't look normal for her to be wondering around by herself.

Sasuke remained quiet and watched his companion as she returned to her food. "Resourceful as always."

"We don't all have a sharingan." She replied taking another bite.

"That's not what I meant."

"Huh?" she looked up at him with curious eyes, covering her mouth as she waited for a reply. The twenty-one-year-old ignored her and went back to eat. Sayuri sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, and tilted her head to watch the two men again, however this time they were watching her. Eyes widening by a fraction, Sayuri smiled and turned back to her food.

Sasuke picking up on her distress looked up and then back to the men who by now had gotten up and were making their way over to them. Narrowing his stormy grey eyes, Sasuke sat up and watched them carefully as they came to stand before their table. Across from him Sayuri tried hard not to wrinkle her nose from the strong smell of sake that they emitted.

"What's up cutie?" the one with the red coat said, laying a hand on the table and leaning towards Sayuri, obscuring her from Sasuke's view. Sayuri put her chopsticks down and looked at the man. Black hair, purple eyes, tan skin, he was not bad looking. He had a good build, and from the looks of it he wasn't a civilian. Her eyes trailed off to the kunai holster on his thigh.

"May we help you?" Sasuke spoke lowly. The man ignored him and continued to smile down at Sayuri in a way that she could only assume was his 'disarming' smile. Behind him was his bald friend. Tall, green shirt, long black pants, sandals, strong build.

 _They're ninja._ Sayuri thought, eyes shifting back to the man before her.

"What? You're not going to say hello?" he said teasingly, smirking down at her. The two Konoha nin could already feel the gaze of the other customers upon them.

"Uh…hello?" Sayuri said shifting back in her seat.

"You have beautiful eyes," the man started lifting his other hand to her chin. "Has anyone told you that?" The man was suddenly pulled back by the collar harshly. "Hey!" the man shouted stumbling on his feet. Sasuke stood his full height glaring at the man. "What the hell is your problem!"

"My problem is that you're touching my wife." Sasuke replied moving to stand in front of Sayuri.

"Wife?" the man laughed and leaned to the side to meet Sayuri's gaze. "You can do much better than him." He winked.

Sayuri watched Sasuke's back tense then turned to see the onlookers whispering among themselves. She quickly got her wallet and put money on the table moving to stand behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don' cause a scene." She whispered loud enough for him to hear. She turned to look at the smug men. "Sorry but I'm not interested." She spoke in a clear tone running her eyes up and down scanning him for any more information she could get. "You're not exactly my type." She tilted her head up to Sasuke and smiled sweetly up at him. "Let's go, dear."

Both turned and walked out the small restaurant. "They're rogue." She whispered, dropping her arm to her side. "No headband anywhere, they also don't seem to be high in rank." She continued as she led Sasuke away from the route to their hotel.

"You were serious about the girl." She heard him speak as they walked side by side in the cold night.

"Yes…" she nodded. "She's alone, and most likely…scared." Sasuke watched her from the corner of his eye. Sayuri's shoulders hunched over under her coat, and her eyes were downcast. "No one should feel that way." He turned back to the street when she looked up, not wanting to be caught staring.

"I understand." Came his quiet reply, taking Sayuri by surprise.

The lights began to turn on as they walked towards Kukiko's shop, but all Sayuri could do was steal glances at Sasuke. When he caught her staring she turned back to the road and cleared her throat. She smiled then. "You've become kinder." He heard he say as she picked up her pace waving a slender light brown haired woman. "Kukiko!" she said, he could hear the smile in her voice.

It was the first time in a while that he had heard her happy. _Then again, Sayuri is good at pretending._ He thought with a frown at the way she had smiled up at him at the restaurant. It had taken him a lot of will power not to pull her close back then.

"Iriai, is that him?" he heard the other woman ask as he approached. _She changed her name._

"Yes," she laughed giving Sasuke a worried look. "This is my husband…"

"Tachi." He offered.

Sayuri raised a black brow. _Real original, Uchiha._ She bit her lip and watched as Kukiko shifted her honey colored eyes from 'Tachi' to 'Iriai.' "Something about you two seems…" they tensed. Had she figured them out? "Right!" she finished with a grin.

Sasuke looked away and Sayuri gave a relieved laugh. "Well that's great."

Kukiko watched the two carefully and continued to smile. "Thank you, for offering to walk me home." She bowed. "It's not far from here."

"Don't worry." Sayuri relaxed. "Let's go." She looked up at Sasuke who nodded as Kukiko led the way.

 **A.N.**

 **Not much action I know but it will pick up. Thank you all for the reviews! I really appreciate it. Please keep going and letting me know how I do. Writing this will be a lot harder, I've already got everything mapped out on how I want it to go, I just need to keep in mind that Sasuke needs to be in character and that is, actually very difficult XD**

 **Anyway please review!**

 **Thank you!**


	4. Caution

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Caution

He was warm.

He felt a soft body pressed against his. "Sasuke…" it moaned his name and he looked up from her neck. The soft piece of flesh held a few bruises here and there, his hands were tangled in auburn hair as her body pressed closer to his. "Sasuke…" she moaned again, biting her lip as she stared at him through half lidded eyes. He went back to his ministrations, one hand sliding down the side of her body, moving up and down the slopes of her curves the other tangled in her hair as she squirmed underneath him. He dipped his head back to her neck where he continued to bite, suck, and kiss the reddening area.

He felt one of her legs slide up his side and wrap around his waist pressing him closer to her. He groaned at the warm sensation and rubbed his nose, softly, up her neck to her ear, where he nipped. She squirmed again when he kissed it. "Sayuri…"

Sasuke sat up with a sharp intake of breath. His heart was beating so fast he could hear it. He felt warm and put out. With a hiss he brushed his hair back as he realized where he was. The moonlight was the only thing illuminating the room, and on the couch lay Sayuri. He sighed and shook his head. This wasn't the first time his dreams had crossed the line from innocent and flirting, to more intimate. Sasuke attributed it before to teenaged hormones, and now…well…

Black eyes went back to staring at the sleeping young woman on the couch. Lips parted, one arm over her head the other over her abdomen, the curve of her hip visible as she was laying on her side, facing him.

It was definitely something more. The dreams were reoccurring constantly, sometimes with the same scenarios. Other times it started off with one thing, followed by them getting tangled up together, and ending with his frustration. What really should have tipped him off was the fact that he had both of his arms, but like always it never does. He stood up and made his way to the restroom for a needed cold shower.

XXX

Sayuri blinked her red and blue eyes open early that morning. This time she lived her nightmare out longer. She slowly sat up on shaking arms and cast a glance at Sasuke sleeping soundly on the bed. She felt a burning at the corner of her eyes but shook it off. It was just a nightmare nothing more nothing less. She was safe.

The sun began to rise when her trembling finally settled. She leaned forward still trying to calm her own heart beat before standing up and moving to change. Closing the restroom door behind her with a gentle click, she turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on her face. She looked up to see her reflection on the mirror, wet bangs stuck to her face here and there, her eyes standing out more than anything thanks to the dark circles beneath them.

Those red and blue colored orbs that she had gotten back during the war, when she stopped rejecting her chakra, only reminded her of what she had lost. Sometimes she wished they had remained the brown they were before. Sometimes it felt like rejecting her bloodline was the best option, rather than living like she was now. Detaching herself from people, not letting them get too close, not knowing if someone else would get hurt. Her bloodline brought nothing but bad luck to her. Taking her parents, her memory, her guardians, her friends.

Her grip on the corners of the white sink tightened. People got hurt because she was a Marihasha. People died because she was a Marihasha. Certain things were expected from her because she was a Marihasha. The red and blue of her eyes reminded her of that every single day since the war and it was beginning to wear her down.

XXX

"Got another message from the two." Moriyo said as she closed the door behind her, a couple of photos and a note in her hand. "They think these two men are involved." Kakashi picked up the photos she placed on his desk. "We don't have any information on who those two might be. We're completely in the dark about them."

Kakashi tilted his head up to watch the dark haired woman as she bit her lip, arms crossed under her chest. "Well they may be recruits." He laced his fingers together. "If it is Kenji there's a possibility that he lured ninja into helping him."

"They don't look like newbies…" Moriyo murmured and picked up the photo of the bald man. He was staring ahead, but not at the camera. They got a good angle of him. "…And they don't look too experienced either."

"True." Kakashi nodded. "But looks can also be deceiving, and we both know that Kenji was good at looking past appearances."

Narrowed, orange eyes turned to him. "We should look for any defected ninja from surrounding villages, of chunin…maybe jounin rank!" At Kakashi's firm nod she immediately rushed out.

Turning back to the photos, shuffled through them and read the report. Sasuke and Sayuri were going to be following them, apparently one of them had approached Sayuri. "Well…Sasuke most certainly did not like _that_ …" Kakashi chuckled, neatly stacking the photos and placing the note on top.

XXX

"This is the third restaurant they visit." Sayuri whispered as she peeked around a corner, watching the two men from last night enter another building. "Do you think they're meeting with clients?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "No." Sayuri looked up at him puzzled. "I think they're looking for another victim."

Sayuri turned back to watch the street but the men were inside. She stepped out of the alley only to be dragged back and pushed against the wall of one of the buildings they were hiding behind. Sasuke's head dipped so that his mouth was near her ear.

"Don't move." Sasuke ordered, keeping her pressed against the building.

"Well!" a voice broke the silence. Sasuke pulled back and stared at an old woman. "I was beginning to worry that things were rocky between you two." She said, eying the two ninja as if she knew a secret. "This is the first time in two days, that I see you two kissing…and in an alley." She laughed. "It reminds me of when _I_ was younger."

Sayuri gaped at the woman mortified as she laughed and resumed her walk. _When in the hell did she see us!?_ Sayuri whipped her head back to Sasuke who had pulled away and stared off to the side.

"They're moving again." He said eyes trained on the two men as they emerged from the restaurant. He grabbed her forearm and pulled her around the corner. "Let's go."

Keeping their distance, the two followed the men. They stopped occasionally looking into shops but they never lingered like they did inside the restaurants. They walked further into the village and Sayuri recognized the area.

"This is where Kukiko's shop is." Sayuri told Sasuke who nodded. He glanced around them and found more people out in the street than yesterday. Sayuri stopped, pulling Sasuke back and watched them enter the shop. Exchanging looks the two picked up the pace and headed to the store.

The first thing they heard was Kukiko's laughter. Sayuri bit her lip and sidestepped a woman who was exiting the small shop. She and Sasuke saw the same man that had been trying to flirt with her at the bar flirting with Kukiko. Only she seemed to be more interested in him than Sayuri had been. Her giggling stopped when her honey colored eyes spotted them.

"Iriai, Tachi!" she waved hello, and the red coated man looked over his shoulder. He smirked seeing the couple again, especially now that he knew their names.

"Hey, Kukiko." Sayuri replied tugging Sasuke along making her way to the fruits.

"So cutie, ever been outside of this village?" He asked tilting his head back to Kukiko, who blushed and shook her head.

"N-not really."

Behind him were a couple of women, looking from Sasuke to their target, red dusting their cheeks as they giggled between themselves not being able to decide which one was more attractive. Sayuri absentmindedly began picking up fruit listening in on the conversation.

"Well how about I take you with me to see the other countries, you know have an adventure." He smiled at her.

"Actually I…" Kukiko looked nervous, but the man was attractive and well she couldn't help but flirt back. But now, he was talking about whisking her away and she had a boyfriend! She put a hand to her cheek in an attempt to keep her blush down.

Frowning, Sayuri placed her basket on the counter rather loudly, effectively ending the conversation. "I'll take these, Kukiko." Thankful for the distraction, Kukiko picked the items out of her new friend's basket, not noticing the slightly concealed glare the short dark haired woman was giving the man in the red coat.

"Oh, hey it's the pretty wife." He looked over his shoulder to the tall bald man behind him. "See, Hiro, I told you she couldn't resist me."

Hiro smirked. "Whatever you say." His response sounded almost strained, like he was annoyed.

"So what brings you here?" he leaned closer to Sayuri. Kukiko eyed the two but kept bagging away the fruit. When she didn't answer he smirked. "Name's Naoki."

"Back off." Sasuke interrupted, coming up to stand behind his teammate. Openly glaring at the man who pulled back and gave Sasuke a wolfish grin.

"Still haven't dumped this loser? Come on, beautiful…" Behind his teammate, Hiro turned to face Sasuke. Sasuke shifted his glare to the bald man, noticing how much taller than the two of them he was.

"Here you go Iriai!" Kukiko exclaimed, picking up on the tension between the four.

"Thank you, we'll be back to pick you up." Sayuri told the girl and followed Sasuke out the door.

"Ok, see you later!" Kukiko waved.

"We need to keep an eye on them tonight." Sasuke instructed once they were out of earshot.

XXX

Sasuke was perched on a roof top that cold night. Bellow him a few people walked, some ran to enter the bar or to go home. The sky above him was littered with stars, and the air cold. His eyes watched the people that went in and out of the bar, careful to note in which direction they headed to.

"Are they still inside?" he heard Sayuri ask as she landed on the rooftop. The light tapping of her boots letting him know that she was approaching him.

"Yes. How was the walk?"

He heard her jacket rustle, in a movement he could only imagine was her shrugging her shoulders. "You should know. Your clone was with me up until she stepped inside." She replied leaning over the railing. "She gave us food, by the way. I left it in the room."

He cast her a glance, she was no longer concealing her form. Her hair spilled over one shoulder, still in the pony tail, mismatched eyes lighting up as the light hit them. She suddenly extended a black cloak and a lion mask to him.

"You'll need this." She said as he took the items from her hand. He pulled back and noticed that she too wore a black cloak and in her other hand was a monkey mask. "ANBU winter cloaks are warmer than the standard shinobi one, an even more so than a civilians'." She looked over her shoulder to watch Sasuke pull the cloak on, lifting the hood over his head.

She was right, his jacket was not as warm as this. He moved back to stand beside her just in time to see their targets step out of the bar. Both crouched lower to prevent themselves from being seen at all. The two men stood in the middle of the street talking before splitting up heading in different directions.

"We should split up." Sayuri started as she began to rise, but her companion caught her arm and held her down. "Sasuke?"

"There's no need." He nodded towards Naoki's direction, blue and red eyes widened when she saw the man enter a hotel just a few buildings down from where he had been with his companion.

"Ok, what about the bald one?" she asked and both turned to watch the tall bald man suddenly take off running towards the forest. Both quickly stood and leapt from rooftop to roof top, putting on their masks as they did so.

XXX

The snow bellow glistened here and there with the moonlight hitting it. Some of the snow on the branches fell to the ground with a plop as they leapt from one tree to the next. Sasuke's sharingan was activated as he followed the man's movements.

"He's fast." Sasuke noted picking up speed, Sayuri fell slightly behind, face paling the further into the forest they headed. Images of the forest in her dreams flashed in her head, but she shook them away. _Now's not the time for this!_ She chastised herself.

Sasuke came to a sudden stop, behind him Sayuri slid to a halt grabbing hold of the tree to keep herself from hurdling forward. The cold air was burning their lungs, breath coming out in white puffs.

"What's-" The Uchiha raised a hand interrupting her. Frowning she jumped onto his branch and looked down. Further ahead was the bald man, Hiro.

He was kneeling down on the snow, digging through it as if he was searching for something. He suddenly stood up and looked around him. Sasuke pushed Sayuri against the tree to keep them out of sight. Sayuri on the other hand fought the urge to push him away. She settled on swatting his hand off her shoulder.

"You've been shoving and pulling me around all day!" she hissed quietly, but Sasuke ignored her, eyes on their target. With a huff, Sayuri turned to watch as the bald man stood up.

Hiro looked down at his hands holding a piece of red paper. Unfolding it, the two Konoha ninja watched as he quickly read it then taking out a pen from his pocket, he scribbled on the red paper and folded it again. Hiro knelt down on the snow placing the paper on the ground and covered it again. Satisfied with his work, he stood up and patted snow off of his pants and continued to make his way further into the forest.

"Why is he heading away from the village?" Sayuri whispered as Sasuke stepped back.

"I don't know, but we shouldn't follow him. Our goal to keep an eye on the girls in the village, if we leave and we're right about them, they could kidnap and murder another one." She nodded in agreement.

Sayuri jumped down her vision of the clearing obscured by the trees that surrounded them. Kneeling she placed her hand on the ground. The feel of the cold snow making shivers run down her back. "He's not in the area." She said just as Sasuke landed behind her.

"I can't sense him either." Sasuke looked around him through the holes of the tiger mask.

He heard the crunching of snow and turned back to find Sayuri on her hands and knees, digging in the same spot that the bald ninja had buried the note. After a minute of digging she sat back and sighed.

"I thought as much." Sayuri mumbled, standing up and shaking her cloak. "I was hoping the note would still be there, but it's not. It's most likely a summon." She turned back to Sasuke who shifted his weight to his right leg. "Kind of like when you summon more shuriken from a hidden reserve, maybe the note was rigged alerting who ever placed the note here in the first place that it had been picked up and written on, and through that he summoned it…But...How would the other guy know that the note was here…?" she wondered.

Sasuke on the other hand looked around them, trying to catch something unusual, something that they missed. Eyes landed on a spot on the tree trunk, just above Sayuri's head. He moved forward and extended his hand to trace the mark, a circle with a line drawn across it.

"Wait…" Sayuri walked up to the tree then turned back into the direction that they had come from, recalling their journey. "He never turned…he kept a straight track from here to the village." She turned to look around them. "This is the only tree in the middle of a perfect circle."

At that Sasuke took a look around him again, she was right, the clearing was small, but this tree was the only one in the middle of a perfect circle of trees. "What does this mean…?"

"Who knows…" He watched Sayuri form three hand seals in quick succession, and pressing the palm of her hand on the ground. A fox suddenly popped out, it licked its paw and tilted its head to Sayuri sniffing the air.

"Oh hey, it's you again!" The fox grinned.

"You've gotten bigger, Aki." Sayuri replied. "Think you can handle delivering a message to the Hokage?"

The fox scoffed. "That old scare crow? Who do you think you're talking to?"

Sayuri smiled behind her mask and pulled out a paper and pen. Sasuke watched as she scribbled on it. _The bald one is Hiro and the other is Naoki. The one named Hiro is communicating with someone through paper. He left the village. We'll keep an eye out for him in case he returns._ She held out the note to the fox who took it from her and saluted before disappearing with a poof.

"You summon foxes?" Sasuke asked when Sayuri stood.

"They are Moriyo-sensei's. My contract with them is only temporary." Sayuri looked up trying to see the sky that was obscured by the tree branches. "We should head back, there's no point in staying out here if we're not following that man."

Sasuke agreed and the two leapt forward, unaware of the dark shape that emerged from the shadows.

XXX

"Eh?" the old owner of their hotel looked up from his book. He was about to close up for the night when the two ninja returned. "It's late." He grumbled eying Sayuri and Sasuke.

"Yes…well we were looking around." Sayuri smiled at the man. _Nosy old man!_

"Right…" he said not believing them but decided that it was too late for him to try to get them to talk. They paid their money and that's all he really cared about. He nodded taking his little black box full of yen. "Whatever, good night." He turned off the lights leaving the two to make their way to their room.

 _I need a shower_. Sayuri thought when she stepped inside. Her fingers were freezing cold from digging in the snow, and she already knew that the tip of her nose was red. "I'll take the shower first." She told Sasuke who was just removing his coat.

Looking over his shoulder he watched as she picked up her towel and hurried into the bathroom, door clicking shut behind her. He sighed and sat down on the couch, eying the cold food on the counter. With a shrug he picked up the box and began eating.

XXX

Her face hit the cold hard ground so hard it rattled her teeth. Pushing herself up she sprinted across the field, tripping here and there on branches. The snow on the ground wasn't helping so she decided to take to the trees. She wondered why she was so cold and looked down only to find that she had no coat. Ignoring it, she leapt forward onto another tree, knowing too well that her attacker was just behind her.

Letting out a yelp her hand slipped and instead of taking hold of the branch above her, it caught air. She rolled onto the ground, hair falling over her face as she did so.

"You're not going to get away." A deep voice sang behind her.

In a panic she scrambled to her feet and once again tried to run on the snow. The cold air was burning her through and her lungs, but she pushed past that. Surviving was her priority right now.

"Ah!" she groaned feeling something heavy land on her, knocking the air out of her lungs as she hit the ground.

"I got you!" the deep voice hissed above her, grabbing her by her shoulder and twisting her around.

Red and blue eyes widened as the assailant's hand went to her throat, pinning her to the cold, snow covered, earth. Eyes shifted to the glinting kunai that he rose above her head as he smiled wickedly down at her.

"Ze-Zetsu…" she barely croaked out as he brought the sharp kunai downward towards her chest.

XXX

"Shit!" was Sasuke's first word as his eyes snapped open. The loud screaming pulling him out of his slumber. He turned, wide sharingan and rinnegan eyes to the girl on the bed. "Sayuri!" he pushed the sheets of him and ran to her.

When he grabbed her shoulder she began kicking and punching blindly. He struggled to keep her down, when a fist flew to his face. He hissed at the sharp pain he felt on his chin. "SAYURI!" He called louder, climbing over the bed and pinning her legs down with his while at the same time catching her right hand than her left and holding them over her head. His actions causing her to squirm and scream louder.

"Keep it down in there!" he heard a male voice yell from the other side of the wall.

"Crap! Sayuri!" he said again hitting his forehead to hers. Now this caused her to stop. He watched as her chakra moved violently around her network, shifting from one element to the next. Bellow her the auburn haired nineteen-year-old opened her eyes.

Chest heaving, and mismatched red and blue eyes, staring up at him in a panic, she began to cry. "Sasuke…" she choked between sobs as the tears rolled down the sides of her cheeks.

Slowly he pulled back, letting go of her hands all the while the Marihasha sobbed. Crying women were not his forte, he had very limited interaction with women to begin with. They were always all over him and when they did cry, it was always crocodile tears, and he always walked away. But now, seeing Sayuri bring her hands to her face, obscuring it from his view, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. But what could he _do_?

Thinking back to a time when he was the one scared and crying, he recalled that his mother held him close and stroked his head letting him ride it out. Without much hesitation he did just that.

Shifting his weight to lay beside her he reached over and pulled her to him. A gesture that she did not resist as she would normally have. Instead she buried her face to his chest, fingers curling into the black shirt he wore. He on the other hand tangled his hand in her auburn hair gently massaging her scalp as she calmed down.

"You're safe." He said gently once all he heard were sniffles coming from her. "No one is going to hurt you here." She shuddered, but nodded nonetheless, repeating his words like a mantra. "Those dreams of yours…they're the ones causing you to lose sleep." He felt Sayuri nod under his chin. "They're the reason why each time I visit Konoha, I've seen you tired." He felt her stiffen but once again she nodded. "What are they about." He demanded softly. When she didn't answer he pulled back, watching as she chewed her bottom lip.

Gulping, Sayuri turned her eyes to him. "I'm being chased, every time I can't outrun him. I always wakeup before I know who it is, before he hurts me…" her voice hitched. "This time I saw Zetsu…he was the one chasing me...I knew it was him before…but I never got to see his face until now." Her eyes shifted downward in shame.

He kept quiet for a moment, watching her as she wiped her eyes. "You're experiencing post-traumatic stress. The events of the war left a big impact on you, psychologically." When the words finished coming out of his mouth she looked up at him. Her expression was tired, but angry, he could almost see her walls coming back up.

"I know what I have and why I have it." She hissed.

"Well if you know that you're experiencing it then why don't you seek help?" he reasoned with the tired ANBU.

"I'm…" She shook her head. "I don't have time for that! I need to keep working. To make sure that nothing like the war happens again."

"It's not healthy, you need help." He tried again.

"Look who's talking!" she replied sarcastically pulling away from his grasp and sitting up, hugging herself. " _You_ never got help for your nightmares!"

Sasuke moved to sit up as well. "And look where that got me." She flinched and looked off to the side. "Keeping these kinds of feelings to yourself is not ok. You're doing more harm than good, trust me."

"I can't…" she whispered. "If I go to a doctor, they'll take me off duty."

Sasuke clenched his hand at his side. "It doesn't mean you're weak if you get help. Especially since it's taking away from your sleep. If you want to keep your sanity, I suggest you go to the doctor when we return to Konoha." Moving to get off the bed, he felt a gentle tug on his shirt. Turning back, he watched as Sayuri slowly pulled her hand back.

"Please…stay." She pleaded just above a whisper. "I…I can't…I'm…" she peeked up him from under her lashes. The gesture causing him to hold his breath. "Please just stay here."

Not trusting his voice, he gave her a short nod. Padding over to the sofa he picked a pillow and brought it back to the bed before pulling the covers back and lying beside her. Slowly Sayuri laid on her side facing him. He watched her from the corner of his eye as her eyes began to flutter shut and her breathing slowly deepened. With a sigh he shifted his eyes to the dark ceiling above him.

 _One moment she wants me far away from her, the other she wants me close…There's no pleasing her._ Sasuke frowned, turning his head to face her. At least he finally got the bottom of her sleepless nights. He had noticed it the day that he left, and every time he visited her. Sayuri was always on edge and tired. He wondered if he had stayed behind in Konoha instead of going to Orochimaru, if she would still be going through all this. At that he sighed. _It's too late to think about that now._ He reasoned with himself. _Just focus on the what's happening now._ He urged himself, eyes falling shut as sleep took over.

 **A.N.**

 **Sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Also some of you are wondering if Sasuke's rinnegan is permanent. It is, I noticed it during The Last Naruto the Movie and Boruto: Naruto the Movie. It is permanent, like with Nagato he can't turn it off. Also great guessing about the nightmares, I was originally planning on them to be her experiencing the murders but I decided to go through the PTSD approach. It's very common for people to experience it after traumatic event** **s, such as a war, and most of the time people with it don't want to seek help. They tend to be angry or on edge, opting to try and 'fix' their problem themselves, I hope that explains Sayuri.**

 **Thank you for all the lovely reviews and I hope you keep reviewing my story! Until next time!**


	5. Confronation

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Confrontation

Once she had been a little girl and she aspired to be a ninja. But she knew nothing about what the ninja world was really like. Back then she had been happy, with her mother, father, and aunt. And although she was sheltered, and didn't have many friends outside of her home, she loved her life.

Even so, she was keenly aware of the fact that not many within her own clan liked her. They whispered among themselves when she took walks with her mother, some of the men and women that visited her father glared at her. She always felt like an outcast within her own clan, shunned and disliked for reasons unknown to her. That was why, when one of her guards asked her to play she was more than willing to do so.

He was warm and gentle. He was patient and understanding. He taught her how to throw kunai and shuriken. He showed her how to place her feet and hands so that she may fight. He indulged her in her childish games of hide and seek and pretend. He was her first friend. She looked up to him, with his long black hair and equally black eyes, he was a godsend at a time where she had felt like she was suffocating.

"Your flower crowns a beautiful." He'd say when she asked for his opinion. He'd smile and let her decorate his hair.

"A little more to the left." He'd instruct when she missed a target and pouted at her first couple of miserable attempts. He patted her head and grinned when she finally hit her mark.

"Ignore them." He would whisper, his hand gripping hers a little tighter when she would look down at the glares and whispers directed at her. He'd take her away from the crowd and to the park so she could be a kid.

Itachi Uchiha, he called himself and with him, came a child.

He was older than she was but not by much. Not like she cared, she was more than happy to make a new friend. She found that he was very different from his older brother. He was rough, childish, stubborn, playful, and innocent. And even though they bickered more than a few times, she found herself wanting to be with him even more. He was the first child friend she had.

"You're doing it wrong." He's tell her and guide her arm to the proper position.

"I don't want to play that! I want to play ninja!" He'd whine when she asked to play tag.

"You're too good for them anyway." He'd say, hands stuffed into his pockets, looking away as a pink tinge took over his cheeks.

Sasuke Uchiha, the boy that had shook her hand the first time they met.

Then came a boy a year older than the last. She had just lost her mother, she was not willing to see anyone, not even the two brothers. Her father had begun to worry when he was brought in. The boy was frowning when he first saw her. She had looked to him with indifference. He had told her that he was brought to her clan to train. That he had someone back at in his clan that he had to protect. That last word, he spat out with barely concealed fury. She did not like him. Each day for a year he came to her home, her father or one of her guards would train him, and each day he'd hover when his training was done, just like her father did when he did find the free time to spend with her.

She had finally had enough one day when she was playing with her ball. She had snuck out of her home to go by the river that ran through the compound. Ignoring the glares, and sometimes saddened looks directed her way she found a quiet isolated spot.

"There you are." He grumbled. Sayuri had looked back just in time to watch the veins around his eyes recede. Byakugan…how could she forget. She ignored him and began to bounce the red ball. "You shouldn't be out without an escort." The boy stepped closer but Sayuri, like always ignored him. Finally, _he_ had enough. He stepped up and slapped the ball out of her hand and it rolled up to the edge of the river. "You're a spoiled brat that's why they don't like you!" he shouted.

She didn't know what took over her, all she knew was that she was mad. She screamed and balled her hands trying to hit him with as much force as her little five-year-old self could. She managed one hit to his cheek when he threw her down on the ground. She shoved him off and he pushed the ball over the edge and into the river. He turned to her, eyes wide as the girl sat up tears threatening to spill over her eyes.

With a sigh he ran after the ball that had been caught by a fallen tree branch. He had leaned a bit too far when he fell into the water. He went up to catch his breath, but was dragged down again. He wasn't a good swimmer yet. He went down one more time when he felt someone pull him back up. He looked behind him to see Sayuri grabbing on to the fallen branch and struggling to keep him up by his collar.

"Grab…the…branch!" she yelled and he did. The two pulled themselves out of the water, both struggling to catch their breaths and wet.

He had fallen onto his back, staring up at the blue sky. "I'm…sorry." He said. She sat up and pushed her wet hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry too." She sighed and pulled her legs to herself. "Don't you know how to swim?"

He looked at her and she at him. "Not well enough."

"What kind of idiot goes into the water knowing he can't swim well." She said with a small smile.

The boy with the byakugan eyes looked like he was about to retort, but offered a small smile in return. "Me." He sat up and bowed. "My name is Neji Hyuga."

"You're very formal." She smiled, and offered him her hand instead of a bow, just like her other two friends did. "Sayuri Marihasha."

The two had been scolded when they returned. Since that day the boy didn't hover, he sat with her, talked to her, and when her clan was murdered, he comforted her.

"You'll get through this." He told her as she cried in the hospital the morning after the murders.

 _Neji…_ Sayuri thought, blinking her sleep away staring up at the ceiling. No nightmares this time, but that didn't mean they were gone. Her eyes felt dry…had she been crying? She sat up, sheets pooling at her lap as she rubbed them. She felt something brush her thigh. She screamed and fell back, hitting the wooden floor hard.

"Ow!" she hissed, grabbing her head.

"Why are you on the ground?" a deep voice asked above her.

She opened her eyes and saw Sasuke leaning over the bed. "What the hell are you-" she stopped midsentence recalling last night. "Never mind." She huffed and pushed herself up. "We should get ready."

Sasuke watched as she picked up her clothes and headed to the restroom. Pushing himself up, he began to change as well. By the time he was done, Sayuri walked out pulling her hair back into the pony tail. Noticing his stare, the auburn haired young woman turned to him, a delicate eyebrow raised.

"Yes?" she asked, the hair tie in her mouth moving up and down with the motion of her lips moving. He didn't answer, instead he headed for the restroom.

XXX

"He hasn't come back." Sasuke whispered to Sayuri who was seated across from him, eating dango.

"Maybe I should have sent a clone…" Sayuri said between bites.

"Hn." Sasuke picked up the onigiri on his plate and began to eat, both shinobi casually glancing over at the man sitting a couple of tables away as he chatted up a willing waitress.

 _It's seven in the afternoon. Maybe I should lure him out and you can cast a genjutsu on him._ He heard Sayuri's voice echo in his head. He turned back sharply to her and glared. _What?_ He watched her blink innocently at him.

 _You are not luring anyone!_ She heard his reply. _And stay out of my head._

Sayuri pursed her lips. _It's the only way I can communicate with you without being noticed by the people around us, in case you haven't noticed we're not in a booth. Besides, you didn't have a problem with this jutsu when I was helping you_ cheat _during the_ Chunnin Exams _!_

She watched with hidden satisfaction as he winced at the loudness of her voice. He glared at her with barely concealed anger until a waitress walked up to them.

"Are you enjoying your meal?" The pretty brunette asked them, although it was mostly directed at Sasuke who nodded, sharp grey eyes on his blue eyed 'wife.' "OK, anything else I can bring you?"

"Water" "Tea" the two replied in unison. She nodded and walked away, but not before giving Sasuke a wink.

 _Why can't I just lure him out!? It would make our whole lives easier if we confirm out suspicions!_

 _Because, you don't know how dangerous he is. Besides, I thought with that jutsu you could hear people's thoughts._

 _How many times do I have to say it for it sink in, I can protect myself! Second, I can only hear what people are thinking at the moment, I can't read his mind completely!_

 _We'll find another way._

 _Just let me do this, it'll be easy. He already has it out for me._

 _Don't be ridiculous._

 _Oh, so you're willing to put other people under genjutsu in the woods as they come into the village, but not let me lure him out so you can do what you've been doing throughout this mission!?_

 _I said no!_ His voice resonated loudly in her head; this time it was she who winced. _That's final!_

"Here you go." The waitress chirped placing their drinks down.

"Thanks." The two replied in unison, stiffly picking up their drinks all the while they stared at each other. Nervously she slinked away, inwardly hoping that maybe they'd get into a fight, that way it be easier for her to comfort him.

"You're a jerk." Sayuri hissed, under her breath.

They had been at each other's throats since the morning. First it was during breakfast, Sayuri would make a snide remark and Sasuke would reply. Then they began to scout the village for Hiro, again that ended up in a fight, and now they were sitting at a small restaurant, having dinner and stalking a flirtatious man.

"Hiro!" they heard their target proudly announce.

Stunned the two Konoha nin turned to the tall, bald, man that entered the small restaurant. Hiro leaned forward to whisper to Naoki, who took a sip of his drink and smirked, waving a waitress over to his table.

Sasuke turned his attention to Sayuri, who's brow creased in concentration.

 _Bald one wants to go. He's not letting on where…_ He watched the girl frown, and bit her lip. _He's thinking about the clearing we were at last night._

"Let's go." The Uchiha took out more than enough money to cover their bill and stood up. Sayuri took one last sip of her tea before setting out to follow her companion.

"Iriai." The two froze when they hear Naoki call Sayuri's code name. They turned to look down at the smirking young man. "Have a good night." He winked. Sayuri rolled her eyes and kept walking, while Sasuke glared at him one last time before leaving.

"I think they're planning something." Sasuke said as he guided her to the exit.

"You think."

The two walked down the road, as the lamps above them flickered on. Once they were at a safe distance and far away from the crowd the two snuck up onto the roof top. Peering over the ledge they watched Hiro and Naoki walk out, heading towards the wooded area of the village at a brisk pace.

"I wonder where they're heading in such a hurry." Sasuke muttered, sharingan spinning. Beside him Sayuri gasped and turned away from the men. "What is it?"

"I-My clones can't find her." Her voice rose in a slight panic.

"Her?"

"Kukiko!" Sayuri snapped and leapt down, sprinting towards the direction of Kukiko's shop. Running so fast, the cold air burned going into her lungs, Sayuri slid to a stop just in front of the store. She walked inside and found one clone come out from the back, shaking her head. Sasuke arrived just in time to see Sayuri come out of the shop, eyes displaying worry.

"She's not inside…" she paused and drew a hand up to her forehead. "Or in her apartment…You don't think…"

Sasuke's eyes widened, recalling Naoki's smirk after Hiro had whispered to him. And now that he thought about it, they left right after.

"You said that Hiro guy wanted to meet at the clearing?" He asked.

"Shit." Was all the two said, taking to the roof tops and heading in the direction that the two men left to.

XXX

"Pretty little thing." Naoki smiled, gripping Kukiko's chin tilting it left to right to get a better look of her features. The girl made no sound, as she lay against the tree unconscious. "She seems to be about the same age they told us to look for."

Behind him, Hiro crossed his arms. "She didn't put up much of a fight…you should have seen her she was very naïve."

Naoki smirked as he stood up. Taking a step back he saw the black ink markings on the ground around the brunette. "To be honest, I preferred the other one…Iriai, but with her damn husband hovering around her there was no getting near her."

"Is that why you held it off as long as you did?" Hiro asked, raising an eyebrow. "You wanted the married woman? You know that's not what they asked for."

Naoki scoffed. "I know, but hey, I could always have some fun on my own."

Hiro looked down at Naoki in barely concealed disgust. "No wonder they chose you to scout for them." He clasped his hands together. "All right, let's-"

The sound of steel cutting air stopped the men. They jumped out of the way just as the shuriken landed on the opposite trees. The two took out their kunai and looked around them finding no one.

"Next time I won't miss." They heard a deep voice echo.

"Get away from the girl." Another voice said, this time lighter and more feminine.

Naoki smirked. "Well, sweetheart, why don't you come out and make me?"

"Sure." Suddenly a figure appeared behind him, punching the side of his face sending the man flying to the right.

Hiro let out a battle cry as he rushed at the masked man only to be yanked off the ground and flung aside by a tree root. A second masked person landed beside the unconscious brunette.

"She's alive." Sayuri said, felling a wave of relief, then turning to the men she bit her thumb and slid it across her wrist, a kunai pooffing into her hand. "So you two are the ones killing women."

Naoki grunted as he stood, holding the side of his head. "You know when I asked for you to make me, I was hoping you'd come out, not that ass hole."

Sasuke moved closer to Sayuri and glared at Naoki from behind his mask.

"Why are you doing this?" Sayuri asked.

"Sweet heart, we're not the only ones."

Her eyes widened, feeling the hood of her cloak being yanked back along with her hair as she was slammed onto the ground like a rag doll. She cried out in pain and watched Hiro sit on her shoulders, hands on her neck. Just as Sasuke was about to move forward, he jumped back in time to avoid the hands that sprouted out from the spot where he had been only moments ago. Hiro screamed as tendrils of electricity wound around him and swung him off of the female. He landed back on his feet holding his arms and glaring at Sayuri who sat up holding her chest.

"You bitch!" he roared and raced towards her, but slid to a stop when black flames sprung up between him and her. Sayuri quickly moved to stand next to Sasuke, taking up a defensive stance.

"Well, well, well…look at what we have here." Naoki grinned as he emerged from the ground without a single speck of dirt marring his clothes. "An Uchiha." His eyes slid to the shorter masked ninja standing beside him. Her cloak was torn at the shoulder, and the hood had been pulled back to reveal auburn hair.

"Last I heard, there was only one Uchiha and he was traveling." Naoki shoved his hands into the pockets of his red cloak. "Can't you keep your damn nose out of someone else's business?"

"Who the hell are you?" Was all that Sasuke said, while the black flames moved to surround Kukiko's unconscious body, keeping her away from her kidnappers.

"Not anyone of importance." He smiled and tilted his head to the side. As he did so, the two Konoha ninja stiffened feeling something sharp pierce their backs. While Sayuri cried out in pain and fell to her knees, Sasuke gritted his teeth and stumbled forward.

Sayuri turned her head to look behind her and cried out. Behind them stood another Naoki, a clone that vanished leaving a trail of smoke behind. She looked to Sasuke's back and saw a needled sticking out. Reaching for her own, she pulled it out and almost fainted at the amount of pain and effort it took just to do a simple task. Catching on, Sasuke shifted to pull his out, falling to one knee with a groan as he did so.

Sayuri gritted her teeth, as she blinked away the nausea and the spots that were clouding her vision all the while she tried to form a hand seal. Any movement she made her feel like she was burning from the inside out. A very painful shock to her system. Her arms trembled as if they were lifting an enourmous amount of weight. Sayuri bit her lip hard at the excruciating agony she was experiencing.

Naoki laughed and sat back on his heels, hands hanging off his knees as he stared at Sayuri's mask. "I just injected you with a chakra suppressant, so I wouldn't bother with using chakra. It'll only make the pain ten times worse. And don't' move too much either, it just makes everything so much more painful for you." Behind him Hiro had regained full use of his arms and stood behind his companion. Naoki moved forward and pulled of Sasuke's mask off first. "Looks like I was right." He then shifted to Sayuri and yanked hers off roughly. "Oh…you're a sight. Too bad, you had to be a ninja." He pushed her back so that she sat on her calves, the sudden movement causing her to cry out. "Kill them." Naoki ordered with a sadistic smirk as he stepped back.

Hiro's face was blank as he picked up the Katana that Sayuri had dropped and pointed it her chest. He pulled his hand back ready. "This will only hurt a bit." With one swift movement he thrusted his hand forward.

A sharp cry echoed throughout the forest, but it was not Sayuri's.

"Sasuke!" she yelled watching as the Uchiha fell to his side, the katana sticking out of his back, blood dripping onto the white snow. Sayuri stared down at her teammates body, in mild shock before she felt something in her snap. Shifting her eyes up she pushed forward, her anger overpowering the pain as she jabbed the needle she had pulled out from her back, into the man's chest falling forward onto the ground as he sputtered blood onto her cheeks.

Sayuri lay as still as she could, trying to keep the burning in her system down, while the man below her started to lose consciousness.

"Fuck!" Naoki cursed avoiding the black flame that chased him. He leapt forward but a small wisp caught his sleeve. Without much thought to it he ripped off his cloak and formed three seals just as his feet touched the white snow. Black marking spread under him and he was gone.

"I can't…sense him." Sayuri ground out struggling to push herself off of the dead man bellow her. Behind her, Sasuke coughed out more blood to add to the already growing red stain on the snow. "Damn it!" she rolled onto her side and tried to stand. When she did, she screamed, tears rolling down her face as she pushed forward until she landed face first onto the reddened snow.

"Sayu…ri…" Sasuke ground out, he was feeling light headed, from what he figured was a mixture of the incredible amount of pain he was in and the blood loss.

Panting, Sayuri pushed herself up with her arms and dragged her bottom half to a seated position. "Hold on." She gritted out as she placed a hand by the wound, taking a deep breath she prepared herself for the pain they were both going to experience in a little bit. "This is going to…hurt like hell…for both of us." She didn't even give Sasuke a chance to reply when she pulled the kunai out and pushed her diminished charka through her hands forming the familiar green glow, stopping the bleeding and sealing the wound shut.

Both crying out as she did so, until Sayuri's vision began to cloud and she fell onto her side. Her cries slowly turned to whimpers while her hand slid off Sasuke and landed lazily on the ground.

"I'm not sure…if I…did a good job…" Sayuri panted.

Sasuke concentrated on her face, or at least tried to, but everything was blurring. He felt dizzy, his vision was unfocused, and he was still in pain. "It's just…like last time…" Sayuri winced, trying to move herself again but found that she couldn't move any part of herself at all. "When you were…Rei…" He could just make out Sayuri's wide eyes in his haze. He chuckled, sharingan eye darting to the black flames as he willed them to disappear. "Fuck!" he cursed at the sudden migraine.

"You knew?" Sayuri breathed.

Sasuke chuckled again, a soft smile on his lips as his sharingan faded, leaving his black and rinnegan unfocused eyes on her. "Yeah…" His eyes slid shut and Sayuri panicked for a moment, until she saw the specks of snow on his nose move with his breathing.

"Sasuke…" she bit her lip and shifted her head with much effort to look at Kukiko who was still out for the count. She inhaled, closing her eyes.

 _I have to move!_ She thought, taking another deep breath. _He could come back for Kukiko! I have to move!_ Sayuri's eyes opened with newfound determination. She was not about to just lay out in the snow and wait if Naoki decided to come back. No matter what it took she was going to get them out!

Sayuri dragged her arm back to her side and pushed up, gritting her teeth only to fall forward again. "If I ever see that ass hole again…!" Sayuri growled as she pushed herself up, willing her body to cooperate. On the bright side the burning sensation that was coursing throughout her body seemed to be diminishing, it still didn't make anything easier for her. She managed to put herself in a sitting position and remained motionless for a minute, blinking back tears before forcing herself to pull Sasuke's arm over her shoulders.

 _Ok…Next I need a clone._ She grimaced at the idea, recalling the agony she was in when she forced her nearly completely sealed chakra to work for her. Taking a deep breath, she made the half seal of the boar, a blob of mud rising beside Kukiko and taking the form of herself. She yelped at the burning sensation that coursed through her entire chakra system. She was really pushing it now.

"I can…only move as much as you…" her clone said as she stiffly pulled Kukiko's arm over her shoulders in the same manner her original did with Sasuke.

"Well…that's great!" Sayuri said through clenched teeth as she pushed herself up. Sasuke's dead weight only managed increase the pain she was already feeling. _One step in front of the other._ She told herself, slowly moving forward, followed by her clone. _All I need to do is get to the trail…Just the trail._ She chanted in her head as her wobbly legs carried her and the Uchiha. Behind her, her clone panted and grit her teeth but followed obediently.

"Almost there…" Sayuri said through clenched teeth as they reached the edge of the path. She almost cried in relief when she fell on her knees, letting Sasuke slide down beside her. A little bit away from her, the clone suddenly fell into a heap of mud leaving Kukiko on the ground. Beads of sweat rolled down Sayuri's cheek as her entire surroundings began to spin once more, this time she didn't bother to try and regain her senses. She heard someone call out in the distance, just before she hit the ground hard.

"What the…" she heard a male voice exclaim before she surrendered herself to the dark void that had been calling out to her from the moment she decided to pull them out of the forest.

 **A.N.**

 **Please review :)**


	6. Recovery

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ __ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Recovery

Sayuri awoke with a sharp gasp. Eyes shifting left to right trying to figure out where she was. She tried to sit herself up but stopped the moment she felt a shock run down her spine and to her muscles, making her arms buckle under her weight, taking her breath away from the strain.

"Don't try to sit up." Sayuri looked up trying to catch her breath as a young man shifted her back on her back.

"Young lady, you need your rest." She heard a much deeper voice chide, but couldn't get a good look at the owner. All she felt was a couple of hands pushing her down.

"Where is Sasuke?" Sayuri asked just as the one of the two placed a wet cloth over her forehead. The cold cloth soothing her headache.

"Sasuke?" the young man asked. At this moment she found that it was hard to concentrate. Her head was spinning.

"The…the man that was…with me." She breathed.

"He's next to you. On the other bed."

Lazily, Sayuri turned her head away from the man and found Sasuke sound asleep, a cloth on his forehead as well. She managed to smile before remembering one last detail. "Kukiko…the girl…"

"Kukiko is in the other room." The man answered.

Sayuri turned back to the young man, for a minute wondering why he seemed to talk about Kukiko with familiarity but decided to ignore it. "Is she ok?"

"She's still sleeping."

"Oh…ok…" Sayuri relaxed her tense body, eyes beginning to flutter close.

"Sleep." She heard the young man say.

XXX

Sayuri's screams brought the young man running into the room, turning on the lamp on the desk next to the door.

"Oh my god, what's wrong with her!?" Kukiko asked entering the room seconds after. Watching the young brunette toss in her bed, as if she was trying to get away from something.

"Sayuri!" she watched the young man on the other bed call out to his friend. He struggled to move but Kukiko was quickly at his side keeping him down.

"Tomohiro, do something!" she urged, while she laid the dark haired young man back on the bed.

"Don't touch her!" Sasuke warned, pushing the woman's hands off him. "Just help me get closer." The young man hesitated for a second, steps away from the crying Sayuri. He turned back to the Sasuke and helped him up, deciding that her friend would know how to calm her down better than he could.

Sasuke gritted his teeth all the way to the other bed, his body still hadn't gotten rid of the paralyzing agent. When they reached the bed, Tomohiro and Kukiko stepped back watching quietly as the brooding man gently took one of the girls hands.

"Sayuri, listen to me…" he struggled to keep her from pulling away. "It's a dream, your safe!" he said louder. "You're safe! Open your eyes." he tightened his grip on her hand as much as the pain allowed him to until her screams died down to whimpers, and finally to complete silence. "You're safe."

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. On the bed, Sayuri opened hers. The unfocused, bright orbs shifted around her.

"Sa-Sasuke?" She groaned. He let go of her hand and brought his to her forehead.

"Her fever's back."

"I'll go get more cold water." Kukiko said as she ran out of the room.

Tomohiro approached the two ninja, watching Sasuke carefully. "Will you be ok, sitting here?"

"The pain has lessened." Sasuke replied, taking a deep breath. "Thank you, for helping us."

"It's the least I could do. You were the ones that saved Kukiko."

Just then the young woman entered the room, setting the bowl of cold water on the small desk next to Sayuri's bed. She quickly dipped a cloth into the water and rung it out a few times before setting it across Sayuri's forehead. Kukiko drew her hands to her chest and stared down at the young woman in worry.

"Will she be ok?" she asked, turning her honey colored eyes to Sasuke.

"She will be." He replied taking Sayuri's hand in his again.

"Tomo…" the young man turned to the brunette. "Maybe we should bring the beds closer, so that he can lay down."

With a nod, Tomohiro stood up and began to push the twin sized bed closer to Sayuri's. Once they were close enough they helped Sasuke back on it. The Uchiha lay beside the sleeping brunette, keeping watch of her as the other two turned off the lamp and stepped out of the room. Stretching his arm out, he grasped her hand in his. Running his thumb under her palm, he felt the small callouses that had formed from her training.

"Sasuke…" she murmured in her sleep.

The Uchiha shushed her intertwining his fingers with hers. "You're going to be all right." He watched her eyes shift under her eyelids. Mismatched eyes shifted to their intertwined hands. "Thank you." He whispered into the night, letting himself relax for a few more hours of some much needed sleep.

XXX

"You're up!" Kukiko exclaimed, surprised to see Sasuke sitting on the bed, back against the headboard and staring down at Sayuri. He cast a glance at her, noticing the glasses of water in her hand.

Shyly the young woman stepped into the room, placing a glass down on the small desk next to Sayuri's bed and extending the other glass to him. When he didn't meet her gaze, she looked down at the girl in the bed, then saw their hands and smiled knowingly.

"You like her." She watched the young man curiously as his shoulders stiffened. "Does she like you?"

He pulled his hand out of Sayuri's grasp and looked at Kukiko. "Can I have the water?"

"Oh!" she quickly extended the glass back to him. Eyes the color of honey watching as he quickly downed the glass in one go, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. She smiled and offered him the second glass, which he took gladly and downed that one as well.

"Where is that man?" he asked eyes on the open door. He could barely make out a couch from where he was.

"He went out to get supplies for you, and to walk the doctor back to his home." Taking the empty glass from him, she sat on the edge of Sayuri's bed, watching as the young auburn haired woman slept, taking deep even breaths. "I didn't know that…I didn't think that he would…"

Sasuke sat still watching the woman in front of him quiver. A few seconds passed before she shook her head.

"She must be really strong, to have dragged us both to safety." She smiled.

"She is." He turned to Sayuri, who had turned her head to him in her sleep. "She's one of the strongest people I know."

"If you love her, you should tell her." He heard the woman point out, to which he turned and narrowed his eyes at her, but she didn't seem unnerved by it. In fact, she smiled at him.

"What makes you think that I love her?"

Kukiko giggled. "Well, if you don't then why do you keep holding her hand like she's going to disappear at any moment?"

Wide eyed he looked down at his hand and found the limb intertwined with Sayuri's smaller one. Cursing himself he pulled back and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. This girl had sharp eyes.

"I hope she returns your feelings."

Sasuke scoffed. "She won't." At her surprised look he shook his head and chose to stare out the window, watching the snow fall.

XXX

The afternoon the sunlight was the first thing she saw when her eyes fluttered open. Slowly she pushed herself up, feeling slight discomfort in the movement but not overall painful. The cloth on her head fell unto her lap, but she paid no mind to it. Instead her eyes were on the window. The snow had piled up considerably, and she could see the forest.

She bit her lip at the sight of the woods and took a shaky breath, tearing her eyes away from them. When she was finally able to breathe at a steady pace, she decided to get a better look at the room. That was when she noticed the empty bed beside her.

"Where am I?" she asked herself, swinging her legs off the bed and onto the cold hardwood floor. She moved to stand but felt the room tilt, so she took hold of the headboard to steady herself.

The door opened and a tall blonde haired man froze, silver eyes on her.

"Who are you?" Sayuri asked, hand on the headboard tightening, causing it to crack. The young man's eyes flickered to the crack on the head board then back to her. Slowly he raised his arms in a pacifying manner.

"Calm down, Sayuri…I'm Tomohiro-"

"How do you know my name!?" she all but growled, eyes scanning the room for something she could use to defend herself. _Lamp? No, too far. The bed would have to do_. She thought trying to figure out how much force she'd have to put into the bed to push it at him.

"Sasuke told me."

At the mention of the Uchiha's name her grip on the piece of furniture loosened. "Sasuke? You know Sasuke, where is he?"

"I'm right here." She heard him say as Tomohiro stepped aside to let him into the room. "You shouldn't destroy his furniture. This is his home after all."

Sayuri turned to the headboard and pulled away slowly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Tomohiro laughed nervously. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. The doctor wasn't sure if your fever would break today, but hey, you seem to be doing just fine."

Sayuri shifted her eyes to Sasuke in a questioning look.

"Tomohiro found us by the trail. He and the doctor helped bring us here."

"Here?" Sayuri echoed, then turned to Tomohiro. "Where's here?"

The blonde man scratched the back of his head. "We're not inside the town. If any of the Grass ninja saw me helping you, I'd be dead. So I brought you to this cabin. It's about a mile away from town." He gave them an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, it's just they're not really welcoming of ninja that are not part of their village, and since our town is within their borders, helping you would mean trouble for me."

"So why _are_ you helping us?" Sayuri started, becoming defensive all over again.

"Kukiko." He shrugged.

"You know her?" Sayuri loosened up once more, eyes wide and worried. "Is she ok?"

Tomohiro chuckled. "You asked me that last night, although you were delirious. Yes, she's been helping me take care of both of you. She told me that she was kidnapped by a bald man."

Both ninja visibly tensed. "That's correct." Sasuke answered and slowly made his way back to his bed, sitting down when he reached it.

"I had heard about them…The murdered girls." Sasuke turned to the blonde, watching as his gaze went down to the floor, fists tightening at his sides. "Kukiko could have been one of them, but you stopped them. So, thank you!" they both were surprised at the man's low bow to them.

Sharing a look, the two ninja smiled. "It's nothing, really." Sayuri was the first to speak. "We're just glad she's safe."

Tomohiro straightened up, wiping tears from his face. "She is! Listen, I can't stay here long, I went to get some supplies from the town and people saw me. If I stay here too long, they will come looking for me. I bought enough to last three days, I'll-"

"Three days is more than what we'll need." Sasuke interrupted. "To be honest we probably won't stay here past tonight."

Tomohiro smiled and nodded. "All right then. Your clothes are on this desk." He pointed to the desk next to him and bowed again. "Take care then, and please use whatever you need." The two watched him exit the room, and shortly after heard him leave the small cabin.

"There's food in the kitchen. He said Kukiko made it for us for when you woke up." Sayuri looked to Sasuke who was already making his way to the door. He paused at it and looked over his shoulder mismatched eyes skimming her. "You might also want to get the sweater on the bed. To cover up."

Sayuri looked down at herself just then. She had been changed out of her clothes and put into a thin purple nightgown. She frowned, it wasn't very revealing but she did feel a bit cold. Pulling up the strap that had been hanging off her shoulder, she snatched the sweater and put it on, buttoning it up as she walked out of the room and into what looked like the living room.

"Here." She turned to her right where the kitchen was. Sasuke placed plate of fish and rice on the small round table.

Walking over she sat down and began to eat, casting glances at the Uchiha as he ate his food. He looked a bit paler than usual, and his shoulders were stiff. She also noticed that he did not wear a shirt. Finally, she saw the bandages wrapped around his abdomen, eyes lingering there.

"What?" he asked, raising a dark brow at her when she put her half eaten fish down.

"Don't…Don't do that again." She said, eyes not meeting his.

With a frown, Sasuke sat back. "Do what?"

"Put your life in danger like that."

"I was protecting you." He said slowly as if speaking to a child.

"That's the thing, I don't need protection!" she met his gaze. "I could have protected myself!"

Sasuke clenched his fist, eyes narrowing dangerously at her. Was she seriously going to start a fight right now. "Well it didn't really look like you could." He snapped.

Keeping her voice calm Sayuri replied carefully. "You don't understand. I _could have_. But then you went ahead and jumped _in front_ of me."

"I'm not going to have this argument with you." Sasuke said, pushing his chair back. The fact that she was so calm while scolding him only made him angry. "I did what I had to do to protect you, my teammate. Besides you did a pretty good job of healing me, I don't see the problem."

Sayuri slammed her hands on the table. Sasuke sat back, a bit startled. That was definitely new. "And what do you think would have happened if I hadn't been able to!?"

"But you did." Now it was his turn to stay calm as the seething brunette glared at him.

Sayuri ran her hands through her hair. "YOU COULD HAVE DIED!" she balled her hands as they came down to her sides. "If my chakra had failed, you would have bled out! You would have died…" she didn't know if it was because she still felt tired, or if it was just her frustration, but she began to feel a lump form in her throat and her eyes water. "So don't _do_ that again."

Watching her try to keep her shoulders from shaking, Sasuke's anger vanished. "Sayuri…" he started but the auburn haired Marihasha turned away and went back into the room. He looked down at their uneaten food, as the room began to change from a golden color to a red-orange. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he decided to go after her instead of just avoiding her. This time, things will be different, he was not going to run away from his feelings. He had promised himself that four years ago, and he had done a good job about it up until…He paused at the entrance, watching her sit at the edge of the bed, back to the window.

"Sayuri," he began again but she didn't turn to him. "I don't want to argue with you. We've done a lot of that in the past year, don't you think."

Sayuri tilted her head to him. "I-We…" she paused and looked away.

"I know already." He sighed and walked over to sit on the other edge, putting enough distance between them. "But we need to get along at least."

Sayuri closed her eyes and sighed. "I wasn't the one who decided not to, remember?" Her hands gripped the white bedsheets. "I wanted us to be friends, and you didn't want anything to do with me."

Sasuke looked away recalling the conversation they had the last time he had been in the village. "I feel differently now."

Sayuri made a sound that was between a laugh and a scoff. "Your emotional fluctuations are not endearing, Sasuke. But I'm tired of arguing. If you want to get along, I will try." She looked at the back of his head with a small frown. "I also don't want you to do something stupid, and what you did last night was incredibly idiotic."

"It wasn't as idiotic as Naruto blowing both of our arms off." He muttered under his breath.

Sayuri rolled her eyes. "If I recall correctly it was both of you that did that." She paused when he turned to her a smile on his lips and felt her chest tighten. "Your smile is nice." She found herself whispering and immediately regretted it.

"You've told me that before." He replied meeting her gaze, the flicker of a smile gone just as fast as it came.

The two sat straight, staring at the empty wall for a good minute. Memories of the past four years played out in their head. Of things that were said and done. Words that were carelessly thrown around. Words they didn't say and regretted.

Sayuri cleared her throat breaking the silence between the two. "How is your chakra? Does it still hurt to move?"

Still hung up on the past Sasuke shook his head. "I'm good, just stiff."

Looking down at her hands, Sayuri flexed her fingers. "My chakra is still a bit jumbled." She mused. "And my body is a bit sore."

"You overexerted yourself last night."

"It was either that or freeze to death." She shrugged.

He turned his head to her, watching as she stretched her arms over her head and arch her back as she did so. Tearing his eyes off of her he went back to staring at a fixed point on the wall. Now was not the time to be ogling at her.

"Do you think they'll come back?" he heard her ask. Turning to her again he watched her slide off the bed, the hem of the nightgown riding up as she did so, but it quickly fell to cover the white thigh it has exposed just a few moments ago.

"Maybe." He replied, watching as she padded over to the desk where their clothes laid. "They didn't get their last victim, but we killed one of them. It's hard to tell…" he trailed off when she let the sweater fall off her small shoulders.

She turned to him when he quieted and found him staring at her. His eyes reflecting something that she could not exactly name and upon closer inspection... "Sasuke? Your sharingan is activated…" she looked around. "Do you sense someone?"

 _What!?_ He scolded himself for losing control, and quickly deactivated his kekkei genkai. "It was nothing."

"Ok…" she said slowly turning back to the clothes on the desk. She plucked her suit up inspecting it for tares but found none. She then saw his black shirt, and moved to it. Lifting it up to eyelevel she saw the tear, upon further inspection she found it clean of blood. _They washed our clothes, that was nice of them._ She thought paying no more attention to the Uchiha. She put the top down, and her hand hovered over her own outfit again.

Watching her hover over her own clothes, he stood and walked over to her to get a better look of her face. "You want to go back." He stated. The way that her back stood ramrod straight, and the slight dip of her brows let him know exactly what she was thinking. He sighed. "It's too soon, you need more rest."

"What if they left something behind. What if Naoki went back!"

His calm eyes met her worried ones. "You pushed yourself too much last night, you need rest."

"Sasuke."

"He may not have come back."

"But what if he did!"

The two took to a staring contest. "We'd have to go back into the forest, will you be ok with that?"

Trying not to stiffen up she bit the inside of her cheek. "W-what makes you say that?"

"You're stuttering." At that she backed away from him. "And last night I also noticed you tensed up the further into the forest we went." She stood quietly for a moment, and Sasuke shifted his weight, eyeing her carefully. "Am I wrong?"

"It's not the forest I'm afraid that." She whispered. "It's what's in it."

He watched her turn back to the clothes on the desk. Something in him stirred, it was the same feeling he always got when he saw that something was bothering her and it bothered him, whether it had anything to do with him or not. When he was younger he'd snap at her, to get her out of it, granted back then he wasn't too sure about how he felt about her.

 _But now…_ He stopped his train of thought. There was no point in going there. What is done is done. But he still couldn't stop himself from placing his hand on her shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Sayuri looked up at him from under her eyelashes, pained expression on her face. "That's what I'm afraid of." She pulled away, picking up her clothes and heading to the restroom outside of the room.

Closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath he moved to start dressing himself as well.

XXX

"Shit." He watched Sayuri who crouched beside the body of the dead woman. She was blonde, again the trademark no face, Naoki had come back and he killed yet another woman. "It's the waitress from the first restaurant we went to."

The snow crunched under his weight as he moved to stand behind her, eyes on the body. "How do you know?"

"The uniform, and her…assets." She said pulling away, hands balled at her sides. "Damn it! We wasted too much time."

He watched her rub her temples, and mutter about how they should have been back sooner. She was trying to put on a front, but she wasn't fooling him. He knew her well enough to know that she was blaming herself for the woman's death. He also knew that there was nothing he could say to her to keep her from blaming herself.

"I'll let Kakashi know." He settled for stepping back and letting her have her moment in private.

 **A.N.**

 **Thank you all for the lovely reviews. Please keep going I really appreciate your comments! Please let me know how I'm doing and until next time :)**


	7. Contemplations

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Contemplations

There was a deity up there that had it in for him, he knew it.

"You have only one room?" Sayuri asked the old woman at the counter who smiled and shook her head.

"Just the one." The woman laid out the key on the counter, knowing full well that they had nowhere else to go. "I'm sure the two of you will be just fine."

He half expected Sayuri to protest but to his surprise she paid for the room and took the key without so much as groan. The trip back was proving to be a lot smoother than the start of the mission. When Sayuri said she'd try to get along, she meant it. No longer did keep her distance from him, instead she allowed herself to stand close, sometimes close enough to have their hands brush. However, after the last five accidental brushes she moved to his left, where his hand was…well, missing.

"I'll sleep on the floor." Sasuke offered as he dropped his bag. The room itself wasn't big, but it wasn't small either.

"Actually…" From the corner of his eye he saw her cheeks brighten. "We can share the bed."

"Are you sure?" he asked, watching as she got her things.

"I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't"

Taken slightly aback, he watched dumbly as she went into the restroom, not once sparing him a second glance. Seconds later the shower was on and he was left standing at the doorway. His eyes shifted to the bed, it was big enough to share at least. He took out his sweatpants and a clean black shirt, and sat at the edge of the bed until he heard the water shut off. A few minutes later Sayuri stepped out of the shower, dressed for sleep, and a towel in hand as she dried her hair.

Sasuke gave her a once over, and walked past her and into the restroom. He turned the cold water on and washed himself quickly. By the time he was done, Sayuri was on the bed facing him, eyes still open.

"You're not asleep?"

"Obviously."

He nodded and turned off the lights. He paused at the door way watching her watch him, and carefully slid under the covers. As soon as he was settled, Sayuri shifted onto her back, hands folded on her abdomen.

"You help me sleep." She finally said. He turned to her, wide eyed as she tilted her head to him. Her hair took on a brown color in the night as lay beneath her. "I don't know why."

"Hn." He nodded. Was she aware of what she had just told him? Sasuke wondered as he watched her eyes flutter shut.

If he wasn't sure before, he was now. Someone had it in for him.

XXX

It was quiet inside the dimly lit Hokage's office. So much so that you could almost hear a pin drop. Moriyo stood beside him arms crossed under her chest while Sasuke and Sayuri stood very still on the other side of the silver haired Hokage's desk. Kakashi's black eyes moved left to right as he read their report, his brows drawing in at certain points. After a little more than a minute, the man sat back, placing their report on his desk. He laced his fingers tighter and rested his chin on them.

"You lost him."

"Yes, sir." Sayuri replied.

"And from Sasuke's report two days ago, he killed another woman."

"Yes, sir." Again, Sayuri replied.

Kakashi shifted his gaze from the Marihasha to the Uchiha. "Moriyo…"

Said woman stepped up, picking up two sheets on Kakashi's desk. "The two men had gone rouge from the Hidden Stone Village." She informed. "Both were classified as special jounin, they never interacted, and their supervisors had no idea where they went off to."

"That would defeat the purpose of going rogue." Sasuke said in a semi bored tone. Beside him, Sayuri looked away trying to hide her snicker.

Moriyo cleared her throat, bright orange eyes narrowing at the young man. "What happened to Hiro's body?"

"It was not where we left it, obviously." Said Sasuke.

"He was gone when we went back to the clearing." Sayuri quickly added, trying to keep her boss from blowing up at the Uchiha. Frankly she was not up for dealing with the angry woman, and the only reason she was here in the first place was because protocol called for it. "The only body there was that of the dead woman, the villagers reported seeing Naoki with her before her death."

"This is getting out of hand." Kakashi mused. "Whoever is their ring leader definitely knows what they're doing, especially if they were able to take on you both."

"I apologize." Sayuri bowed.

Moriyo eyed Sayuri and sighed. "It'll be fine, for now just rest. You both look like you need it."

"Moriyo's right." Kakashi nodded. "You are dismissed."

They watched their two students leave the office quietly, closing the door behind them. As soon as they were out of earshot, Kakashi turned to Moriyo who looked down at him with a raised brow.

"I know, I know." He waved, moving to stand. "You warned me about them."

"Sayuri hardly ever fails a mission." Moriyo frowned. "She's good at her job, she's not perfect but that boy is a distraction."

Kakashi who had moved to look out the window watching as the two ninja stepped out into the open smirked. "How much of a distraction can he be if they're not even together, Moriyo."

The dark haired woman rolled her eyes at her friend. "They don't have to be together to be distracted."

XXX

"Well that went well." Sayuri grumbled. Next to her, Sasuke stuffed his hand inside his pocket, mild frustration showing in the crease of his brow.

"There was nothing we could have done in our former state."

"Yeah, well, I should have thought ahead."

Sasuke scoffed. " _I_ didn't even think ahead."

Sayuri tilted her head up to him. "I forget, they called you a genius."

"They still call me that." He shrugged.

"Right." She said, sarcasm evident in her tone.

Sasuke watched as the moonlight hit her features, no longer hiding behind the façade of another woman. It had been a long time since he had seen her like this. Mismatched red and blue eyes, and unruly auburn hair, the rest of her hiding under the black cloak.

"What?" Sayuri asked, catching him staring. "Do I have something on my face?"

His fingers twitched and his eyes shifting to her lips for a second as she drew her fingers to them. So Sasuke looked away, deciding that the shops down the road were more interesting than the young woman beside him. "It was nothing." He lied through his teeth, but she didn't seem to notice, or care.

"Well then…" He heard her footsteps and turned back to her. "I'm heading home."

"Do you want me to walk you?" He said without thinking, an action he regretted as soon as she stopped to look at him over her shoulder. The distance between them seemed to stretch for miles instead of the couple of steps it really was.

She offered him a small smile. "No, I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer." And with that she waved at him, then went on her way.

Sasuke stood at the entrance of the Hokage tower for a few more seconds watching as Sayuri's back disappeared before he went off on his path. He had travelled down the lamp lit road for a few minutes when he stopped. He felt like he needed something, but tried to ignore the want and took a couple of more steps before stopping again, suddenly recalling that he had agreed to see Sakura when he came back. He turned, hesitating for a fraction of a second before shrugging his hesitation off and heading down the not so familiar road.

A feeling in his gut told him to turn around the closer he got to her apartment, but he ignored it. Coming up to the door he lifted his arm to knock, again there was that feeling; the twisting of his stomach like what he was about to do was wrong. But he knocked anyway. Not even a minute later, Sakura opened the door, face brightening when she saw just who was knocking on her door.

"Sasuke!" she smiled brightly, throwing her arms around the Uchiha, who had to take a step back to keep from falling.

"Sakura." He greeted.

She quickly pulled him in. "Make yourself at home! I didn't know you were coming today, if I had I would have made you something to eat." She beamed at him watching as he continued to stand by the door, eyes darting around the small entrance. "So how was the mission?"

"Good…" and after a brief pause he added. "…bad"

Sakura blinked at the dark haired man. "Good and…bad?" she frowned. "Did something happen with Sayuri?" Jealousy seeping into her tone.

"Sakura we talked about this already…" he began but the young woman approached him, standing before him hand on his chest. Green eyes shined under the light as she looked up at him almost pleading.

"I know what you said. But…" she leaned forward pressing her lips to his. "…Please try."

He hesitated at first but, threw logic out the window. She wanted him to try, he'd try. He pinned her to the door, his lips on hers. The pink haired woman gasped all former thoughts erased from her mind, and he took full advantage of the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He felt her arms wrap around his neck, as she stood on her toes trying to get closer to him.

Sasuke had never kissed her with this much desperation. Sakura noted as the Uchiha pushed her back against the door. She let him continue as she returned the kiss with just the same amount of emotion. Her legs wobbling bellow her at feel of his hand wondering down to her hip.

Sasuke felt the slight swell of her hip and pressed on. He had too much pent up energy and frustration from the mission and he needed release. He moved his kisses to her neck and she tilted her head up to allow him more access. She gasped when he bit her and she pulled his head closer to her. Feeling the need in him grow he pulled back to stare at Sakura but what he saw was Sayuri.

Sayuri staring up at him with half lidded mismatched eyes. Sayuri with disheveled auburn hair. Sayuri with a growing red mark on her neck. Sayuri with her arms around his neck. Sayuri calling his name.

"Sasuke?" she asked with a voice that did not belong to her. "Sasuke?" she asked again, this time mismatched eyes turned green, auburn hair became pink. The body pressed against him, pulling him closer changing to that of Sakura's.

"Sasuke?" she asked when he abruptly pulled away, running his hand through his hair. "What's wrong?" she reached for him but he stepped back avoiding her touch.

"I need to go." He said.

"Why…?"

Sasuke covered his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes darting wildly left and right. "I just need to."

She hesitated for a few seconds but opened the door for him anyway, as he all but ran out. Sakura watched her boyfriend hastily make his way out of the apartment building without so much as a glance back. When he was out of sight, the pink haired medic closed the door with a soft click pausing at it before turning to go back into her living room.

She smiled, fingers on her lips, eyes landing on her old team photo. Slowly the rosette picked up the photo, caressing Sasuke's image lovingly then her eyes shifted down to herself and finally to Sayuri and Naruto. The smile on her lips slipped.

" **He…He loves her…"** Karin's words rang in her head.

Sakura bit her lip hard and gasped at stinging sensation she felt soon after. "What am I doing…" she scolded herself and placed the picture back on the shelf. "She's my friend…and he's with me." Her eyes strayed over to the pouting blonde in the picture and felt as if all of a sudden she couldn't breathe.

XXX

Sasuke slammed the door to his apartment. He threw off his cloak and pack, and headed for the shower, letting the cold water fall on his heated skin.

 _What is wrong with me!?_ He demanded himself as he scrubbed himself clean.

His forehead touched the cool tile of the shower as he thought about what he had done to Sakura. It felt wrong, he shouldn't have done that. He turned the faucet off and grabbed a towel patting himself dry before moving to get some clean clothes. When he slipped on his black sweatpants, Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed.

 _I should have listened to my instincts and gone home instead._ He lamented. Black eyes slid to the window of his small apartment. He could see the lights from the bars and restaurants that were still open. Pushing himself to his feet he walked up to the window, watching the night life bellow him. His eyes spotting a young couple walking hand in hand. The sight bringing back a memory from three years ago.

" **Oh!" Sayuri tilted her head up to get a better look at him. Sasuke looked down at her, as she lay her palm flat on the center of his chest. His hand was gripping hers firmly keeping her close to him and out of harm's way when a couple of genin, went crashing down right on the spot where she had been mere moments ago.**

 **Both could just barely hear the children's instructor scolding them. Sayuri felt Sasuke's thumb run over her knuckles and his heart beating beneath her palm. Sasuke felt Sayuri's fingers twitch over his chest and saw the parting of her lips, his eyes straying down to them when she pulled away clearing her throat.**

" **Thank you." She said almost breathlessly. He found himself smirking at the faint pink dusting her cheeks.**

Sasuke yanked the blinds close, effectively shutting out the outside lights. _I need to stop thinking about her._ He thought as he made his way to his bed, pulling the blue covers up and sliding in. _It never does me any good._ He closed his eyes, and soon the world around him became background noise, before completely fading away.

XXX

Her fingertips brushed the cool wooden floor. Her brows dipped and she whined under her breath. Legs shifted and the bear fell with a dull thud. The door to her home opened and light footsteps made their way to her.

"Hey, sleeping beauty!" Hajime said and within seconds he was pinned to the ground, kunai at his throat. He hesitated to even take a breath, the sharp metal object so close to his neck that any movement would draw blood.

Above him Sayuri had her knees on his biceps, digging painfully into them but keeping his arms pined to the ground. Her eyes were glassy, her bangs almost obscuring the bright mismatched orbs. She wasn't really looking at him though, he realized keeping as still as he possibly could.

"Sa-Sayuri…" he started slowly and flinched when he felt the cold steel of the kunai press against his neck. "He-Hey…calm down…" he spoke as calmly as he could while trying to figure out a way to get her off him without getting killed. His salvation came in the light gasp. Hajime's bright eyes shifted to the doorway where Diachi stood. "A little help?"

At that Sayuri looked up, but Diachi was faster, he took her arm and twisted it enough for her to drop the weapon with a grunt. He shoved her off of Hajime pinning her hands behind her back, almost slamming her onto the floor. Hajime sat up and rubbed his neck, and when he was satisfied that there was not injury he turned to Diachi and Sayuri.

Sayuri did not struggle, instead she blinked up at them in confusion. Red and blue eyes darting everywhere trying to understand what was going on.

"Diachi?" she asked but the man did not get off.

"What the hell, Sayuri!" Hajime snapped at her. "You could have killed me!"

"I…" Sayuri frowned in confusion. "What are you doing here!?"

"Moriyo-sensei told me to check up on you." Hajime answered, hand still at his neck.

"You had him pinned down and a kunai at his throat." Diachi explained, easing up but not letting her arms go. "You really could have killed him."

Sayuri didn't understand. One moment she was walking next to her parents and the next she was being chased by… "Oh…"

Her two companions watched her stunned. Diachi felt her go limp and he got off, allowing Sayuri to sit up. The two exchanged looks when she refused to look at them, instead choosing to watch her hands on her laps. Already they could see the red marks of Diachi's fingers forming on her wrists. The brown haired man winced, maybe he shouldn't have been too rough.

Hajime rubbed his chin leaning forward cautiously. "Your sleep is getting worse. Isn't it?"

"I'm taking care of it." She stood up and moved to the kitchen, the boys behind her.

"Sayuri, this can't keep going on." Diachi began watching the auburn haired girl take out a plate. "Talk to us, whatever is going on-"

"I said I'm taking care of it!" the plate in her hands shattered when it hit the sink.

"Whoa!" Hajime rushed forward turning on the faucet to wash off the blood in her hands. Diachi, on the other hand, crossed his arms over his chest, fingers digging into his skin. "You need to be more careful!" The silver haired man scolded as he gently dabbed the wounds in her hands with a towel.

Sayuri looked over her shoulder to Diachi who was visibly paler, with pursed lips staring at the sink. "I'm sorry." He nodded stiffly and walked over to turn off the water with a shaky hand.

"I can handle it."

Hajime sighed, eyes on the bloodied cloth. "How about we go out for breakfast!" his two friends turned to him with raised eyebrows. "Sayuri just came back from a mission and I think we all need to relax, what do you say!?"

XXX

"Hey, bastard!" Naruto grinned at Sasuke Uchiha who stood with his hand on the door knob glaring at the blonde.

"What are you doing here, idiot?"

Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his now short blonde hair. "I heard from Kakashi-sensei that you got back from your mission."

"So?"

"Aw, come on don't be rude! I wanted to see if you wanted to go out for breakfast. You know catch up!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sure."

"Grea-HEY!" Naruto shouted when the door to Sasuke's apartment was slammed shut in his face. A minute later, the door opened and Sasuke stood at the door, black pants and purple long sleeve.

"Let's go." Sasuke said as he headed for the stairs of the apartment building. Grinning, the blonde ran to catch up.

"So what have you been up to?" Naruto asked as they walked side by side.

"Traveling. Seeing things in a new light. Same as before."

"Aww, that's no fun!" his blonde friend whined.

Sasuke allowed himself a small smile, something that he was beginning to find out was becoming easier to do. "Hn."

Naruto put his arms behind his head, leaning up to stare at the bright sky. "I've been shadowing Kakashi-sensei! He's showing me the ropes."

"Did he nominate you for Hokage already?" Sasuke asked looking a bit surprised.

Naruto laughed. "No, but he says it'll be soon. Maybe you could be one of my advisors!" he nudged the Uchiha playfully and Sasuke shoved him away.

"Like I'd advise you."

"Come on!" Naruto whined. "Well, maybe I'll ask Sakura then." And at the mention of the rosette, Naruto dropped his arms to his side. His smile wavering.

Sasuke noticed the change in behavior and mentally winced. "Naruto-"

"I'm happy, for both of you." He quickly added. "Really, I am!" Sasuke gulped and looked away. "I just, thought that it'd be Sayuri but, Sakura seems happy." Naruto's sharp blue eyes noticed Sasuke's stiff posture at the mention of the auburn haired girl.

"Remember what I said…at the Valley of the End."

Naruto turned to Sasuke. "About you and Sayuri?"

"I'm starting to think that was the one thing I was right about."

Naruto blinked at the man next to him, and anger began to boil up inside him. "Sasuke if you're using Sakura to get over-"

"Sakura asked me, Naruto." Sasuke sighed. "I said yes, but only to show her that I'm not what she thinks I am."

"And what would that be?"

"Perfect."

"To her you are." Naruto said in a whisper, but Sasuke heard him anyway.

"It's what she thinks, but I'm not."

"Naruto, Sasuke?" the two stopped and watched Sakura wave at them. She was walking beside Ino who smiled at them and waved as well.

"Crap." Sasuke heard Naruto curse under his breath as the two headed over to the girls.

Sakura beamed at them while Ino shifted her blue orbs from Naruto to Sasuke. She then wondered if Sakura couldn't tell their change in demeanor or if she chose to ignore it. _Glad I'm not between those two._

"Where were you two headed?" she asked curiously, sneaking glances at Sasuke.

"To get breakfast." Naruto smiled awkwardly. "Want to come?"

"We can't." Ino replied. "We're supposed to be at the hospital in five minutes, right Sakura?" the turned to the medic who tilted her head to the side lost in her own thoughts as she looked from Sasuke to Naruto. "Sakura?" Ino said a little louder, shaking her friends arm.

"Wha-! Oh, yes! Hospital. Sorry boys."

"Don't worry." Naruto laughed, clearly relieved. "You girls go do what you have to do."

Sakura smiled up at the blonde. "Right! I'll see you boys later."

"Ok, bye-bye!" Ino waved, tugging Sakura along.

Naruto stared after Sakura until she turned to corner. Next to him Sasuke stared too. He wondered if she was still thinking about last night and if maybe she had begun to see things for how they were.

XXX

"Can we never eat without someone interrupting us!" Hajime groaned in frustration as he all but slammed money onto the table covering for all three of them. Around them the customers began murmuring while staring at the three ninja in the booth, some even going so far as to lean out to get a better look at them.

Meanwhile Diachi closed his eyes trying to keep his own irritation at bay, while Sayuri looked down at the food longingly.

"I'm sorry!" the Chunin squeaked bowing before he bolted out of the restaurant.

"Let's go see what our Hokage wants now." Hajime grumbled as he slid out of the booth.

Sayuri quickly snatched three onigiri and followed the silver haired ninja, while Diachi gulped down his drink.

"Stupid Kakashi and his terrible timing." Hajime grumbled taking a bite of the rice ball that Sayuri handed to him as soon as they were out in the street.

"Thanks." Diachi said as he too bit into the rice ball. Beside him Sayuri was half way done with hers as they leisurely made their way to the tower.

They barely got to the door of the silver haired man's office when they heard shouting down the hall. All three stopped and turned to the right where the commotion was coming from.

"Naruto, calm down!" they heard a female voice yell just at the blonde slid around the corner.

"You guys got called too!?" He asked, blue eyes wide.

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed catching up to him, behind her Sasuke causally strolled over to them.

The door to Kakashi's office swung open before any of them could say any more. Shikamaru stood on the other side, yawning.

"Good, you're here." He said rubbing his eyes. "Get inside." All six obediently entered the room, standing before their Hokage.

"What's going on, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked first.

"Sasuke, Sayuri." Kakashi called, ignoring the blonde's question. "We found Naoki."

"Who the hell is that?" Naruto blurted out.

"He's your mission." Kakashi answered. "Sasuke and Sayuri were sent out a week ago to investigate a couple of murders that have been occurring on the border, unfortunately this man…" he said presenting everyone with a picture of Naoki. "…Got away. Fortunately, we have a lead on him again. He's within the Wind Country boundaries now, and since sending two ninja before didn't work out, I'm sending the six of you." Both Sayuri and Sasuke looked taken aback. Between them Naruto snickered.

"I think that's overkill, but hey, I'm not Hokage." Shikamaru shrugged, as he leaned against the wall.

"Man, you two must have messed up real good if Kakashi-sensei is sending all of us!" Naruto teased.

"Shut up!" Sasuke and Sayuri snapped at the blonde.

"We don't need them, just send us to where the lead is and we'll bring him back." Sasuke spoke, eyes narrowed at his former teacher.

Kakashi laced his fingers together and shook his head. "That won't be possible."

"Why the hell not!?" Sayuri demanded now. "I know we let him get away but that won't happen again. We know how he works and-" Sayuri bit her lip at Kakashi's raised hand.

"It won't be possible because the Kazekage requested all of you. There is a festival in Suna coming up in four days, there will be people coming into the village from all over the wind country and he wants to make sure they are safe. We know that Naoki was working with more than just one person, how many we don't know, but we're not taking any chances. We need to make sure that the civilians are safe and that we catch him and whoever _else_ is working with him before any more murders occur."

He picked up two scrolls and tossed one to Naruto and the other to Diachi. "Those contain information you will need for the mission. Sayuri, Sasuke, since you two know our target better than the rest, you're team leaders."

"Team Eight is already in Suna, they were sent there as representatives for the leaf for the festival. They'll help in any way they can." Shikamaru added.

"You set out tomorrow. That's it, you're dismissed." Kakashi waved them off.

"You failed a mission?" Hajime turned to Sayuri once the door to Kakashi's office was closed.

The auburn haired girl rolled her eyes. "I think we've established that already."

"How could you fail a mission!?" Hajime asked taken by surprise.

"It's not she planned for it to happen." Sasuke spoke up, moving to stand beside Sayuri, not liking Hajime's tone.

"This is insane…" Diachi said, light brown eyes on the scroll. "Who the hell is this Naoki guy?"

"Let me see the scroll." Sakura told Naruto who handed it over to her without much thought. Opening it and reading its contents quickly, they could all see the concern on her face. "How were they able to…"

"Is it really Kenji?" Diachi asked the Marihasha who rubbed her arm.

"I don't know."

"You don't know!?" Hajime exclaimed taking a step forward.

"You need to calm down." Sasuke warned, stepping towards the silver haired man.

Hajime glared at Sasuke and gritted his teeth. "This doesn't concern you, you're not her teammate."

"She was part of my team before yours. She is my teammate."

"Well not anymore."

"You're missing them the point!" Sayuri sighed placing a hand on Sasuke's arm. With a scoff he stepped back an action that didn't go unnoticed as Naruto's blue eyes shifted to Sakura who looked between Sasuke and Sayuri, slight frown on her lips. "We need to stop them…him. How it happens I don't care, let's just go and enjoy our day and meet tomorrow morning. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere I'm supposed to be." The young woman narrowed her eyes at Hajime before heading for the exit.

"We're not done!" Hajime yelled after her.

"I say we are!" Sayuri yelled back as she rounded the corner.

Hajime growled, hands balling into fists at his sides. Diachi patted his shoulder calmly. "Let it go." The silver haired ANBU turned to him looking at him as if he had grown a second head.

"I know I'm not the only one that thinks that her failing a mission is odd! She's not-"

"Let. It. Go." Diachi said through his teeth, eyes narrowing dangerously at the young man.

Hajime stepped back, looked over his shoulder to the three curious ninja and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Whatever." He turned on his heel and purposefully hit Sasuke with his shoulder. The later moving back, hiding his irritation very well.

"Sorry." Diachi bowed at the three and followed his friend out.

"Is there something we need to know, Sasuke?" the Uchiha shifted his mismatched orbs to Sakura who looked up at him, irritation shining in her green eyes.

"No." and with that he too followed the hallway to the exit.

Sakura sucked in her breath, watching her boyfriend leave. Beside her, Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder, offering her a kind smile. Her eyes widened in surprise, it had been a while since Naruto touched her at all.

 _It feels…nice._ The thought surprised her, as a faint blush dusted her cheeks.

"It'll be ok."

The rosette nodded. "Right." But as she followed the blonde out, she couldn't help but wonder just what happened between Sayuri and Sasuke a year ago.

 **A.N.**

 **Don't kill me! I took forever but it's here and I made it longer than the others. Please let me know what you think, I know some of you will not be happy about the Sakura thing, but trust me it will get better…eventually. Any way, thank you for reviewing and all of the helpful criticism. Please keep at it! Until next time.**

 **Please review!**


	8. Deserving

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ __ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Deserving

The cold water splashed across his face effectively waking him up. He looked up from the running water to his reflection on the mirror and turned the faucet to shut the water off. Grabbing the towel on the rack, he began to dry his face all the while making his way to his room.

The sunlight filtered unto the floor from under the curtain he had now kept closed, the only other source of light in the area being the light over his head. Pulling a clean shirt over his head he headed for his desk where his travel pack and katana laid. He tested the weight of the pack before swinging it over his shoulder then moving on to strapping his katana and its sheath over his hip, black eyes noticed the glinting bell necklace next to his team photo.

" **Here take it, I don't want it."**

The sound of her detached voice made him clench his fist at his side, sharp black eyes squeezing shut at the memory of Sayuri placing the necklace on the bed. He had been carrying it around with him since that day. It was when she gave it back to him that he realized his mistake, but he was too angry and prideful to take back what he said.

But compared to how they had been back then, they were back on speaking terms. _Maybe it's time to give it back._ He thought, inhaling through his nose he allowed his tensed shoulders to relax. He snatched the bell from its spot on his desk before heading out the door.

XXX

The morning was sunny, but cold. The winter breeze rustled the dried up flowers that decorated the graves. Sayuri smiled, and pulled out the dead plants, replacing them with healthy new ones. Clasping her hands together she mumbled a quick prayer.

"I'll be back soon." She said to the stone, tracing her finger over the markings. "I'll tell you all about it when I get back, Neji." She bowed and pushed herself back on her feet, picking up the dead flowers to throw away in the trash bin near the entrance of the cemetery.

She adjusted her bag over her shoulders and walked at a steady pace towards the gates. There was going to be a festival, and Naoki would be there…or so they believed. Sayuri's brows drew together as she frowned. Could he be working with more people? What if he really is working with Kenji?

 _He has to be…The way the murder victims were found._ She recalled the day she found Saito. Sayuri could still barely believe that Kenji would do such a thing. _The real question is why…why is he doing all of this?_

"Sayuri." The young woman blinked. She stood at an intersection, Sasuke standing opposite to her.

"Sasuke, good morning." She smiled, gripping the straps of her pack.

His hand went to the pocket of his cloak, the bell rolling between his fingers, when his brows knitted. "What happened?"

"Huh?"

"Your hands, what happened to them."

"I broke a plate." she said letting her arms fall to her sides, the black cloak hiding her hands from his view.

"You didn't heal them?"

She shook her head. "It'll remind me not to do it again."

"It'll be a hindrance in battle."

Sayuri gave him a smug smirk and shrugged. "I'm not worried." Both turned the same corner and continued their short walk to the gate. He was about it pull out the necklace when he noticed a tall brunette sitting at one of the benches.

"Good morning." Diachi greeted when they were close enough. Sayuri replied but Sasuke did not, instead the former avenger moved to lean against a nearby tree.

"Where are Naruto and Sakura?" Hajime asked as he neared the three ninja. He walked past Sasuke, not sparing him a second glance and glared at Sayuri when she turned to him. The auburn haired girl rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

Diachi shrugged in response and turned his light brown orbs back to the road.

"HEY GUYS!" They heard Naruto's yell, from a rooftop causing all of them to wince. The blonde grinned and landed on the ground before them.

"Naruto, some people are still sleeping." Sayuri admonished.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry!" he laughed, scratching the back of his head. He looked to his right and saw Sasuke. "Hey bastard, what are you doing all the way over there?"

"Trying to save my eardrums."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" the blonde asked loudly cupping his ear.

"Keep it down, you knuckle head!" Sakura bopped him on the head then turned to the group. "Good morning!"

Hajime stretched his arms over his head. "Good, you're all here. Let's-"

"OK GUYS LETS GO! GAARA'S WAITING!" Naruto announced enthusiastically running out of the gates, the guards waving goodbye as he rushed by.

"That Naruto…" Sakura shook her head. "Let's go, Sasuke." The Uchiha pushed himself up and walked up to the rosette, Sakura taking off after Naruto first, leaving Sasuke behind.

"Sayuri?" Sasuke looked over his shoulder to the Marihasha. Sayuri took a deep breath and nodded, she watched him leap off leaving her team to stand by the gates.

"You done ogling?" Hajime said between his teeth.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Sayuri demanded, taking a step towards the silver haired young man.

Diachi stepped between them, placing a hand on their shoulders. "All right, now's not the time for this. We need to catch up, move it." He said, pulling Sayuri along, Hajime following closely behind.

They ran through the day, hardly stopping other than to have a small meal before setting out again. By the end of the day they had crossed into The Land of Rivers, deciding to rest up at an inn for the night. They found themselves at the hot springs that night, both groups enjoying the warm water in their own section.

"I've never been to a festival in Suna, I wonder how it'd be." Naruto wondered out loud, as he leaned back into the water.

"Probably full of pretty women." Hajime grinned slyly.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Diachi asked.

The silver haired ninja turned to Diachi and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not like I'm cheating, I'm just pointing out the obvious."

"I'm pretty sure, your girlfriend wouldn't like to know what you said." Naruto teased to which Hajime turned, throwing his small towel at the blondes face.

"You keep your mouth shut!"

Naruto laughed. "At least she isn't here. The one who has to be careful is the bastard here."

"Don't be ridiculous, idiot."

"What, don't tell me that you don't look at other women from time to time."

The three men turned to the Uchiha watching as his cheeks lit up. Sasuke turned to the blonde, who had noticeably pink cheeks of his own and scowled. "Have you been drinking?"

"Bah!" Naruto waved him off. "I'm of age and Hajime drank too."

"Yeah! Let's have another!" Hajime exclaimed moving to stand.

"Don't even think about it, you're a terrible drunk." Diachi shoved him back down.

Hajime whined, eyes flickering to the wall that separated the baths and snickered. "Hey do you think the girls are in there already?" Hajime asked moving over to the blonde, nudging him on the ribs. Naruto's eyes widened and he backed away.

"I'm tipsy not suicidal!" His blue eyes shifted over to Sasuke's glaring ones, although it wasn't the glaring Uchiha he was worried about, it was the pink haired girl on the other side.

XXX

Sayuri hummed, small smile on her lips as she entered the woman's bath, it had been a while since she got to relax in one of them, even if she was on mission she'd enjoy it. Sakura stood by a basket already in a towel, her clothes placed neatly inside. Green eyes turned to Sayuri when she stepped inside. The nineteen-year-old blinked at Sakura in surprise.

"I thought you'd be in there by now." She said as she took out a basket from the opposite side of the wall, removing her vest, and undoing the zipper to her one piece then moving on to pulling off her boots.

"I got a little lost on the way here." Sakura laughed, waving a hand as she did so.

"You got lost?" Sayuri asked as she pulled off her other boot. The cool hardwood floor making chills run up her spine.

"I was thinking, and wondered off." She explained.

"I see." Sayuri peeked at Sakura who was placing the basket back in its place, and paused putting her boots inside her own basket. "What happened to your neck?" Sayuri as she pulled her suit off.

"Eh!" Sakura covered the purple area, turning a bright red. "O-oh…uh…" She stuttered, glancing at Sayuri who rose a brow at her curiously amused smile on her lip. "…Sasuke happened."

Sayuri blinked and waited a second before the words sunk in, her smile faltering. Turning bright red herself, she went back to her basket, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around herself before taking off her undergarments. "I'm sorry." She said quickly folding her suit and shoving it into the basket a long with the rest of her clothes. "That was none of my business."

Sakura watched Sayuri's stiff movements carefully. "Are you alright?"

The auburn haired girl gripped the basket tightly for a seconds before relaxing her fingers. There was no reason for her to be acting like this. This is what she wanted, she asked for this. _No you didn't._ A nagging voice in the back of her head replied. She shook her head and slid the basket back into its place against the wall just a little too rough. _It was for the best._

"I'm ok, just a little tired…you know the last mission and all." She pulled her hair out of the ponytail it was inn, letting it tumble down her shoulders. "I didn't really get to rest before heading out on this one."

"Yeah…" Sakura frowned. "The last mission…with Sasuke."

"Yes." Sayuri stepped up the stairs and past the folds the led to the next room. "You coming?" Sakura heard her ask from the other side.

"Just a second." She replied running her hands through her pink hair. _It's ok, Sakura. It was just a mission, no reason to be jealous._ She thought to herself, taking a deep breath already feeling like this was going to be a long mission.

XXX

By the time they arrived at the gates of the Hidden Sand Village it was dark. They arrived tired, dirty, and trembling from the cold of the lands winter air.

"Identify yourselves!" the guard demanded from them group as they neared him.

"We're ninja from Konoha, the Kazekage is expecting us." Sayuri said, handing him her ninja registration. The man looked behind her to the tired group in the back as they too took out their papers. The guard handed them off to his companion who ran inside to verify their arrival.

"This is taking forever!" Naruto whined, pulling his cloak closer to him, teeth chattering as another breeze came by. Suddenly he wished he was back at the bath house they were at two nights ago.

Sayuri on the other hand was mildly surprised at the totally apathetic face of the guard before them.

 _Isn't he freezing?_ She wondered as she shivered on the spot. The other man came out and handed them their papers before letting them inside. They were led through the cave that led to the village, and were greeted by a smirking Kanakuro.

"Hey guys." He waved.

"Kankuro!" Naruto was the only one to reply as he enthusiastically went up to the puppet master.

"Hey Naruto…" he glanced at the two girls standing on the side. "Ladies."

"We're here too, jerk." Hajime grumbled.

"Yeah, well you don't really come as often as they do." Kankuro chuckled. "Let's get going, Gaara would like to meet with you before he lets you rest."

Sayuri tried hard not to groan as they were lead through the village. Like Konoha it had grown in size, more people had moved within the village borders, so by consequence nightlife in Suna had flourished. There were more stalls open, more restaurants, and more people out in the streets.

"Isn't that…" Some people whispered, pointing at Sasuke as if he couldn't see them blatantly staring. Some villagers stopped in their tracks when they recognized the tall blonde and the ex-avenger. Most began to whisper among themselves, some in awe and some in disgust and anger.

"Just ignore them." Kankuro advised when the ninja became alarmed by some of the darker intent they were sensing. "They won't do anything. It'll die down soon enough, the same thing happened with Gaara."

"You sure about that?" asked Sayuri who eyed a man as he approached them.

"Hey you!" He stood directly in front of Sasuke jabbing him with his finger. "You have a lot of nerve showing up here." Sasuke neither said or did anything other than stare at the man apathetically.

"Leave him alone." Sakura stepped up, green eyes narrowed.

The man turned his dark brown eyes to her and sneered. "Or what? You gonna do somethin'?" His view of the rosette was blocked by a black jacket. He looked back up to see the blonde hero standing between him and his two friends.

"Back off."

The man glared. "Just because you fought a demon, you suddenly think you're better than all of us!?" he spat, but Naruto held his ground. "I can take you." He began to pull his arm back but a firm hand on his stopped him.

"He said, back of." Kankuro repeated slowly, hands gripping the man's arm tightly. "Trust me, you don't want to mess with them." He nodded to the other three ninjas. Sayuri, Diachi, and Hajime were standing up straight, hands on their weapons, muscles taught getting ready to stop a brawl.

The man snatched his arm away and stomped off into the small crowed that had begun to gather around them. The crowd began to murmur among themselves when the ninja pushed through on their way to the kage tower without further incident. Once inside they were greeted by a smiling Gaara, and Team Kurenai.

"Hey guys!" Naruto's smiled enthusiastically. Sayuri smiled and went to stand next to Naruto, her team right beside her, while Sakura and Sasuke stood on the other side of the blonde.

"Gaara."

"Sayuri." The two nodded at each other in acknowledgement.

"Lord Gaara, said that you'd be joining us." Hinata said politely and turned to Sayuri. "Were you able to visit Neji?"

Sayuri nodded. "Yes, I got the flowers you asked for this time."

"I trust that your journey here was a pleasant one." Gaara spoke. "Now, Kakashi has informed me of everything."

"Yes, I apologize for getting your village involved in this. That was not my intention." Said Sayuri bowing at the redhead.

"It wasn't entirely her fault." Sasuke added.

Gaara looked from Sayuri to Sasuke and nodded. "I understand. Hinata has been kind enough to keep watch with me, in case we spot Naoki."

"But we haven't." Hinata shook her head.

"We would help too, but there's not much we can do without a scent or having met him before." Kiba shrugged his shoulders, while Shino stood quietly beside him.

"As you know there will be a festival here the day after tomorrow. If those men really are after women, then that festival will be the perfect opportunity for them." Kankuro said, as he leaned back against the wall.

"The murders were committed outside of the towns. Keeping guards at the village exits will help." Sayuri offered.

"Yes, we plan to keep all exits to the village armed. Temari delivered a picture of Naoki to every gate before heading out to Konoha."

"I guess that explains why Shikamaru didn't come with us." Naruto whispered to Sayuri. The auburn haired girl covered her mouth trying to stifle a laugh while next to them Sasuke and Sakura frowned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…laugh it up, Sayuri." Kankuro grumbled.

Gaara cleared his throat and hid a smile behind his lanced fingers. "Right, well, Kankuro would you mind escorting them to their rooms. We'll talk strategies tomorrow."

"Sure." The puppet master strolled over to the door. "Come on."

The group of ninja headed to the door when Gaara spoke again. "Except you, Sayuri." The girl in question looked over her shoulder. "Can we speak in private?"

 _Wait, what?_ Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks and turned to the two, mouth set in a hard line.

"Sure, Gaara."

He became rigid when she agreed without a second thought. First she calls him by his first name, now she was going to spend some time alone with him?

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed at the redhead who tilted his head to him. "She needs rest." Next to him, Sakura placed a hand on his arm.

"Sasuke…" the pinkette whispered, offering the other two a tight smile. Green eyes flickering back to the Uchiha in barely concealed shock when he pulled away. She drew her hand back to her chest and held it there, pink brows dipping in dissatisfaction.

Catching the hurt and anger in the medic ninja, Sayuri crossed her and frowned. "I'm not that tired." She shrugged. "I'll stay."

"Sayuri." Sasuke began but stopped when he noticed that everyone was staring at them. He tsked and allowed Sakura to lead him out. Behind them, Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets. It didn't matter to him that Sasuke was just dating Sakura to show her that he's not the right fit for her, but he didn't have to be rude to her. Blue eyes, steeled at his friends back once they were out in the hallway.

"Don't keep her up too late." Hajime teased, waving goodbye at them on his way out.

"Shut it!" Sayuri snapped.

Hajime faked a smile at the Marihasha. "I know how _chummy_ the two of you have gotten."

Before Sayuri could wrap her hands around his neck, Diachi beat her too it by jabbing Hajime in the ribs with his elbow. "Can't you ever keep your smart mouth shut." He said through gritted teeth, eyes shifting to Sasuke who turned away from Sakura and had his eyes on the silver haired ninja.

"What, I can't joke around now?"

Gaara ignored the silver haired ninja and turned to the Hyūga at the door, gentle smile in place. "Hinata, thank you for all your work."

The young woman smiled kindly. "You're welcome."

"C'mon, Hinata." Kiba said, steering the blue haired young woman out of the office. "I'm tired, let's go."

When the door clicked shut Sayuri turned to Gaara who rose a brow at her. "What was that about?"

"It's Hajime, and his mood swings." When his aquamarine eyes blinked at her, she sighed. "He hates me right now for failing my last mission."

"Why would he hate you for that?"

"He's mostly mad at the fact that because of me, more people are in danger now."

"I wouldn't say that it was just because of you." The red head said. "You got bested, it happens. Is that also why he tried to insinuate something about us?"

Sayuri drew a hand to her forehead and shook her head. "No." She knew her silver haired teammate was trying to get under Sasuke's skin, but she wasn't about to let the Kazekage know that, even if they had gotten closer over the past two years. Looking back at the red head she decided that it was time to change the subject. "So Hinata's been helping you, huh?"

Unfazed the redhead laced his fingers and placed them on the desk. "Yes, she's been of great help lately."

"Right." She smirked.

"Leave it." He warned, aquamarine eyes narrowing.

"Ok, ok." She waved her hands in front of her in a pacifying manner. "So what did you need to talk to me about."

"Your ex-caretaker."

Her sly smirk fell, a lump formed at the center of her throat, her stomach tightened and all of the sudden she felt short of breath. She hadn't talked about him since Moriyo became head of the ANBU, and honestly, she preferred it that way. "What about him?" she asked, inwardly wincing at the apprehension evident in her tone.

"You lived with him, did he ever show any inclination for defecting? Any ties to Obito?" She shook her head, lips shut tight. "Anything suspicious at all? It could help in figuring out why he's doing this."

"We don't know that he really is." She blurted out. "There could be a copycat."

Gaara leaned back in his chair, eyes scrutinizing her. "You still defend him."

"I…" she looked down at her boot covered feet. "It's just hard…to admit that someone you care about could try to…hurt you."

"I know the feeling." Her red and blue eyes snapped back to him, watching him look out the window. "Although under orders from my father, my uncle tried to kill me."

"Then you know better than anyone how hard coming to terms to something like this is."

Gaara turned back to her, wry smile that didn't meet his eyes in place. "I've got this to prove it." He said, pointing at the 'Love' kanji on his head. "You can't keep living in denial, Lady Sayuri."

XXX

He was staring up at the dark ceiling when he heard a knock on his door. He sighed and turned to his left, watching the silver bell shine under the moonlight, but he heard it again.

"Sasuke!" Sakura's muffled voice came from the hallway.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath, and sat up. Running a hand through his hair, he padded over to the door and pulled it open.

On the other side Sakura's eyes widened, a pink tint taking over her cheeks when she first saw Sasuke's bare chest. She cleared her throat, remembering what she came to do in the first place.

"What was that with Sayuri back there?" she demanded.

Sasuke looked off to the side. He hated lying to her, to him she was a close friend, although he'd be damned if he admitted that out loud. He prided himself in being brutally honest, but he also didn't like to hurt her on purpose…not since Naruto knocked him back to his senses. He caused her enough pain as it was but…

"It was nothing." He replied.

Sakura bit her cheek. " _That_ was not, _nothing_!" She hissed, trying to keep her voice down. "That looked like a jealous boyfriend!"

"Look, we just got back from traveling all this way in the cold. I thought the least that redhead could do was let us rest. Whatever he wanted to discuss with her could wait until we all got some proper rest." He sighed. "I'm tired Sakura, and I'm sure you are too. Go back to bed."

The rosette didn't buy his excuse for a minute but she took a deep breath and let it go. "Fine, have a good night Sasuke." She stepped closer to him and placed a kiss on his cheek before pulling away, bright green eyes staring into his for a few seconds. A flash of disappointment flickered in them but she turned and walked away before he could get a better look.

Closing the door behind him, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Sakura was right. What he did back there was nothing, but it was getting harder to stay silent now that he wasn't actively avoiding her like he did a year ago.

"Damn." He breathed and went to his bed, closing his eyes once his head hit the pillow.

" **Here take it, I don't want it." She placed the bell carefully on to his hospital bed, eyes not meeting his. "Give it to someone who deserves it."**

 **A.N.**

 **Well that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all like it. I really appreciate all of the reviews! They're all amazing and thank you for the helpful critiques. I know we all have our different opinions about the ending of the series, but in this story I can make it end however I want and that's what I love about :)**

 **Any who, please review and let me know what you think of this chapter. There's definitely more to come!**


	9. Jealousy

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ __ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Jealousy

Leaves crunched beneath her feet, her breaths were becoming labored and her hand tightened around the kunai. The air was stuffy and it made it hard to breath despite her being outside. Twigs brushed her legs, and a branch smacked into her cheek. It stung but she bore through it.

"You're not going to escape." The mocking voice echoed through the forest but she kept running. "You're losing your touch." He laughed as she stumbled on a fallen branch. His laughter grew louder, his voice sounding closer but she kept running, despite her protesting legs, despite her burning lungs screaming at her to stop, despite the numerous cuts she received, and the sweat that rolled down her forehead and falling in front of her eyes, she kept running.

 _Trees._ She thought as she ran, avoiding hitting them face first. _There're trees everywhere_. She couldn't see past them. Each step she took terrified her. What if he was hiding behind one of them? What if there was a trap?

"I'm going to get you!" Her breath hitched and suddenly she heard screaming.

" **NO!"** the broken voice cried out and she slid to a halt. Her booth met the fresh, wet, earth as she stood surrounded by trees. The scream echoing all around her, and all she could do was stand stock still, baited breath as she waited for what was coming next.

" **SOMEONE PLEASE!"** She bit her lip, already knowing whose voice that was. **"DIACHI, DO SOMETHING!"** that was her, she looked all around he, fists clenching at her sides. **"DIACHI!"** the corner of her eyes began to burn and her vision was clouded by tears. The dark sky was illuminated by a flash of, bright, red light that quickly faded back to the black of the night sky.

" **HELP!"**

Sayuri clutched her hair, pressing her palms against her ears trying to keep the distraught cries for help out. Her eyes squeezed shut as her nails dug into her scalp. At the moment she began to beg for the screams to end, until she suddenly found herself on the ground and out of breath. She opened her eyes, and was greeted by Zetsu's toothy, menacing, grin.

This time Sayuri was quick enough to bite her lip. She whined at the pain and rolled onto her side, hand cupping her mouth as her teeth let go of the reddening flesh. She inhaled slowly willing the tears to stop. When she felt composed enough she pushed herself up and wiped away the tears with the back of her hands. Still trembling, she went to restroom to wash her face and looked at her reflection. Her hair was in disarray, her eyes were puffy and rimmed red, her bottom lip now was swollen and bruised.

She gulped, hands gripping the sink until she recalled the screams. Her screams. Her eyes began to swim and soon she found herself on her knees, head bent as she sobbed.

XXX

That morning Sasuke woke up with a headache. Naruto was being loud, and energetic like always. _You'd think he'd calm down over the years…_ He thought as he ate while seated across from the talking future Hokage. Beside him sat Sakura laughing and adding to Naruto's conversation with Diachi, who would sneak glances at him, while Hajime continued to ignore the Uchiha all the while keeping up with the conversation between Sakura and Naruto.

He sighed and begged some deity above for patience when the door opened and Team Kurenai came in. The trio greeted the other five and went to the kitchen for food.

"So have you guys been staying with the Kazekage all this time too?" Naruto asked in between mouthfuls.

"Manners." Sakura chided, with a light kick to his chin under the table.

Hinata giggled, covering her mouth and nodded. "Yes, Lord Gaara has been very hospitable to us each time we come here."

"He is kinder than before. Why? Because ever since Naruto's fight with him, he has changed for the better." Shino added, adjusting his glasses.

"Yup, the guy's a real gentleman." Kiba grumbled.

Sakura laughed. "You have to admit he's definitely not like before." At the thought of just how cruel Gaara had been back when he was only twelve, the eight ninja felt a shiver run down their spines.

"Nah, Gaara's a whole lot better now." All but Shino and Sasuke jumped at the sound of Kankuro's voice. The puppet master leaned against the door frame, fresh paint on his face and a smirk to finish it all off. "Don't worry, Gaara isn't here."

Sasuke looked to the door then back out the window of the kitchen. It's well past ten and Sayuri has still yet to show up for breakfast. What's more Gaara isn't there either. He narrowed his mismatched eyes. _Where are they?_

"Sasuke?" Naruto nudged the man's leg. "What's the matter?" Bright blue eyes watched Sasuke's eyes flicker to the door once more. Catching on to Sasuke's unasked question, he decided that it was better if he asked. "Hey guys, where are Sayuri and Gaara?"

"Heck if I know." Hajime grumbled stuffing his mouth.

"You're a real help." Naruto said sarcastically.

"They're both out checking the village entrances, and getting ready for the festival." They all turned to Kankuro as he sat down, plate in hand.

"Just the two of them?" Hinata wondered out loud then quickly covered her mouth, her cheeks reddening.

"Yeah." Kankuro nodded.

The scraping of a chair made them all turn to Sasuke who held his empty plate in his hand. Quietly they watched as the Uchiha walked over to the sink and placed it in the sink before leaving the room without a word.

"What's gotten into him?" Asked Kankuro after Sasuke left. He turned his dark brown eyes to the blonde as he too stood up and put away his plate.

"Sorry." He said as he ran to the door. "Thanks for the food!"

XXX

Even though it was still January, the weather in Suna was warm and dry. She looked out the windows as they walked down the hallway, catching a glimpse of the sand dunes just outside. The sun was high above their head when they landed at the East gate. Sayuri followed behind the Kazekage and the female jounin in charge of the entrance's detail that day. The two talked about how there will be double the amount of guards, how anyone entering and leaving the village will be checked thoroughly, and how much Gaara appreciated the effort on their part. It was obvious to her that the woman liked the Kazekage and he either chose to ignore it or just plain out didn't notice. Sayuri sighed and rubbed her dry eyes.

Her eyes began to flutter shut but she caught herself and shook her head. A hand to her shoulder made her jump back with a light yelp. Gaara and the jounin looked at her with concern for a moment but then the redhead turned to the pretty blue haired woman and dismissed her.

"Are you feeling well?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be." she replied, playing with the hem of her sleeve.

"You almost ran into us."

"I got distracted."

"And this morning? What were you doing up at three in the morning?"

"What were _you_?"

"I couldn't sleep."

She shrugged. "Neither could I."

Sea green eyes narrowed at the auburn haired girl. "You seem to have a lot of excuses."

Her eyes felt heavy, and her body was begging her for some much needed sleep, but she fought it. "There has just been a lot going on."

"Like your sleeplessness." He crossed his arms at her.

"Ah." She nodded.

"My body has gotten used to not getting sleep for long periods of time, yours, however, has not." He tilted his head to get a better look at her. "I didn't want to say it yesterday, but you looked worn out"

"Look at you, using your observational skills." She said sarcastically.

"We're going back to the tower, and you will get some rest. I can finish the last details myself."

"No." He looked slightly taken aback when she quickly added. "I'll feel better if I see to it that all the entrances are well looked after. We do that then I go back and try to sleep, how's that sound?"

Gaara frowned. He liked Sayuri, she was interesting, and, at times, refreshing. After getting to know her during the times she traveled to Suna as an ambassador he found her to be quite interesting. He had known that something about her was off since the war but he never pressed about it. Partly because they were not that close of acquaintances. But now…

"You are here on a mission to help protect my village, it is your duty at the moment and I expect it to be done well and without distractions. As long as you are here on mission I expect you to be able to take care of yourself, and I want you in top shape, if you can't do that I will be forced to relieve you of your duty."

Sayuri bit the inside of her cheek and straightened her postured. "Yes, Lord Kazekage. I understand." She bowed. She didn't feel offended, far from it. Sayuri understood where he was coming from. Gaara may be someone she could trust, she could even go so far as to call him a friend, but he still held his duty to the village above all else. He loved his people and if she could potentially put their lives in danger by not completing her mission to the best of her ability then he was going to make sure that she wouldn't get in the way of those who were. So she smiled as she returned to her original position. "I promise I will not be a burden."

Gaara watched her carefully for a moment and jerked his head lightly, gesturing her to follow him. "We'll head to the North gate, after that, we go back and you get some rest."

Her smile was tight but she agreed. "I will try." It was the best she could offer, and he could see it in her tired mismatched eyes, but he'd take it for now.

XXX

Diachi wondered the halls of the Kage tower earning strange looks from the staff. No matter how many times he went out on mission he could not get over how different other places were from his home village. He missed the green of the trees and the sound of the rustling leaves. Of course he also did miss the summer time, when it wasn't as cold as it is now. He stopped around the corner catching Sakura on a bench staring out a window. He thought about leaving, his fingers tapped on the wall at the idea, but he decided against it.

"Sakura." He said as he drew closer. The medic jumped and turned to the brunette, smile in place. It was obvious to him that she had been lost in tough and if he had not spoken he probably could have walked right past her.

"Diachi." Green eyes watched as he took a seat beside her. "Missing Konoha again?" she asked.

"You got me." he leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs.

"I know how you feel."

At the saddened tone of her voice the brunette tilted his head to the pinkette.

"It's always so bright over there. Cheerful, the sky is almost always bright blue, and the sun is almost always shining, making people happy, energetic…warm…"

"Like Naruto."

"Yes." Diachi turned to her. "Wait…No! T-that's not..." He watched with a half amused smile as she turned into a sputtering mess, her cheeks turning as pink as her hair.

"Relax, your secret's safe with me." He winked and that only managed to fluster her even more.

She shook her head and breathed. "There's no secret to be kept." She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, watching his fingers lace together then unlace. "How's therapy going for you?"

His fingers froze and they rested on his knees. "It's going."

"Do you think you'll be able to return to the medical squad? You were really good, especially for getting into it as late as you did."

He pursed his lips. "I…I don't know to be honest."

Sakura's brows dipped in concern. "Hey…" she said as she laid a hand on his. "I may not know what exactly happened, but…you have to know that whatever it was, it wasn't your fault."

"See! I told you they'd be there!" Kiba announced with a toothy grin.

"Hey guys…" Naruto said, blue eyes shifting to Sakura's hand on Diachi's. "Everything ok?" he said slowly.

Sakura's smile was bright and instant. She pulled away from the ANBU and nodded. "Yes, we were just talking."

"We were just about to go out for lunch, would you like to join us?" Hinata asked, her soft voice had become confident as the years went by.

"That sounds good right about now." Diachi replied as he stood in a fluid motion.

"See told you, he's always up for food!" Hajime grinned.

Diachi smiled and looked at the group. "Where's Sasuke?"

"He didn't want to come." Naruto answered, at Sakura's questioning look he turned to look down at her with a lopsided smile. "He wasn't hungry." Well technically he wasn't lying, Sasuke had told them he wasn't hungry.

"Ok." Sakura replied without so much as blink of an eye. Naruto frowned, was she really ok with this?

"We should all go now. Why? Because it is lunch hour and the restaurant will fill up quickly."

"Shino!" Naruto jumped and the bug user adjusted his glasses. "Stop sneaking around like that."

"He's been there Naruto." Sakura sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh!" Naruto chuckled nervously at the sullen aura around his friend. "Sorry, Shino."

"You're clueless." Sakura said, taking his hand and following Team Kurenai out.

XXX

When they arrived back at the tower it was past noon. Sayuri landed on the ground before Gaara did, having jumped off the mound of sand that Gaara used for quick travel. Behind her Gaara landed easily on the ground as his sand moved back into his gourd.

"Remember our deal." He said as he walked past her.

"Right, right." She replied obediently trailing behind.

"I'll be in my office if you need anything."

"Yeah, got it."

From above narrowed mismatched eyes watched the two enter the tower. Sasuke frowned, fingers in his pocket playing with the round bell. He turned to his right when he heard light footsteps ascending the stairs. Sayuri rounded the corner and stopped, curious eyes on the Uchiha.

"Sasuke." she looked around him. "Where's everyone?"

"They went out to eat."

"Alright." She shifted her feet, feeling awkward and cleared her throat. "I'm going to my room."

"Have you eaten?" she stopped again, this time directly in front of him.

"No."

"Do you want to get something to eat?"

Sayuri placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head at him. "If you were hungry why didn't you go with them?"

"I wasn't hungry then."

"Well I'm not hungry now." She replied with a frown, then recalled Sakura and the now yellowing mark on her neck. "Besides, Sakura's your girlfriend. You should have gone with her."

"Sayuri?" The familiar voice made both of them freeze. Sayuri turned around and smiled at the three ninja approaching them, ignoring the curious look she got from the nearing rosette.

"Hey. Sasuke was just telling me that you went out for food."

"We brought you two some!" Naruto smiled, gesturing to Hinata. The short, young woman moved to hand a plastic bag to Sayuri and Sasuke.

"Sakura said, that you both would be fine with onigiri so that's what we brought." Said Hinata.

"Thank you." The two replied as the Hyūga stepped back.

Blue and red eyes flickered to the extra bag in Hinata's hands and she smiled. "Is that one for Gaara?"

At that, the young woman blushed a pretty pink. "Uh…Yes."

"He told me he was going to be in his office."

Hinata nodded. "Thank you for letting me know. I'll go drop this off, excuse me." She bowed and left the former Team Seven alone.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, watching Hinata go, while Sakura kept her bright green orbs on Sasuke, occasionally sliding to Sayuri. Uncomfortable, Sayuri began to play with the sleeve of her outfit.

Sakura turned to Sasuke taking hold of his arm with a sweet smile. "Sasuke, do you want us to keep you company?" Sasuke looked down at the rosette and nodded although a bit hesitant, and allowed her to inch closer to him.

Sayuri felt her stomach knot at the affection and averted her gaze, finding the brown floor more interesting than the two twenty-one year olds. "Uh, I'm going to go to my room." She said. "Thanks again for the food."

"But, don't you want to eat with us?" Naruto asked, stepping closer to the younger girl. Sayuri was about to turn the offer down when she saw his bright blue eyes shift to the couple behind him. "It'll be fun! We haven't hung out as a team since last year."

"Sure…" She forced a smile and sweat dropped at the blonde's sigh of relief.

At the Marihasha's affirmative, Sakura perked up. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah…" she nodded. "…Why not." _What could go wrong?_

XXX

Hajime and Diachi wondered into a weapons shop after splitting up from the group. Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru left in search of some one of a kind dog food for the later. Hinata, Naruto, and Sakura said they'd go drop off food to Gaara, Sasuke, and Sayuri, and now here they were. Looking at swords and kunai in a strange shop in Suna.

Hajime lifted a katana up, testing its weight and scowling when he found that it too heavy. He turned his silver head to Diachi, watching the brunette look from one styled kunai to the next. His arms crossed over his chest, keeping his hands as close as possible. Feeling someone's eyes on him, Diachi turned to Hajime and raised a brow, adopting a more relaxed posture.

"Find anything?" He asked and his brunette friend shook his head. "Let's go then."

When the two walked out of the shop and back into the road, Hajime examined his teammate from the corner of his eye.

"What is it?"

Diachi laced his fingers behind his head and tilted back a bit to see the clear sky. "I don't like working with other teams."

Hajime pouted and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, if Sayuri had finished the damn mission you wouldn't be here."

Diachi shook his head. "I talked to Kakashi to exempt me but..." At that Hijime turned to him. "He's worried, he wanted an extra medic."

"But you quit!"

"I did, but the Hokage asked me and it wasn't like I could say no to the Hokage."

"Sayuri could have taken your place." Hajime found himself hissing. It was her fault. He forgave her for the last time she failed her mission. The one resulting in Diachi's problem. He expected her to learn. He expected her to do better, instead he comes to find that she let another criminal get away. She may be his teammate, and he may be her assigned guard, but Diachi was there first. Diachi was his best friend, and they've gotten themselves into enough trouble because of her.

Almost as if reading his mind, Diachi placed a hand on Hajime's shoulder. "Stop being so hard on her."

Hajime scoffed. "I'll stop being hard on her when she begins to act like the ANBU she is."

Diachi sighed and continued their walk. There was no getting through the silver haired ninja at the moment. He was too stubborn, too much of a hot head, and too attached. Diachi almost chuckled at the last thought.

XXX

 _What could go wrong?_ She thought to herself sarcastically as she drank water to keep herself occupied. Naruto sat beside her on the table, bouncing his leg up and down all the while Sakura and Sasuke sat pretty close together. _Sometimes I wonder if they're doing this on purpose._ She thought as she took a bite of her food. Sakura laid her head on Sasuke's shoulder and Sayuri choked on the rice.

"Sayuri!" Naruto blurted out patting her back as she struggled to keep the food down, grabbing the glass and drinking it. When she could finally breath she sat back up, stopping Naruto mid pat.

"I'm fine." She winced, her throat hurt and her voice came out raspy.

"You sure?"

"Ah." She said with a single nod. She peeked up at the couple across from them and saw that they were staring at her with wide eyes. She bit her lip and bit into her onigiri with a little too much force.

"Sayuri, maybe you should slow down." Sakura suggested. Sayuri sat up and chewed her food slowly making a point of it causing the blonde to burst into a fit of snickers. The medic sighed and drew a hand to her forehead, shaking her head as she did so. "You two are impossible." Taking that as an oppotuniy for a distraction, Sayuri turned to Naruto.

"Hear that, you're impossible."

"I'm pretty sure she said both of us."

"I don't know…" Sayuri shrugged. "You can be pretty annoying."

"HEY!" the blonde shouted in her ear.

"And loud."

Naruto growled. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You're sarcastic!"

Sayuri gasped, feigning hurt. " _I'm_ sarcastic?"

The blonde gave her a lopsided grin. "And a spoiled brat. Ow!" he whined when Sayuri's fingers went to pull at his cheeks.

"Take that back!"

Sakura giggled when Naruto moved to pull at Sayuri's cheeks as well. The two cried out in pain but neither relented.

"Children, stop fighting." The two youngest members of Team 7 turned to Sasuke in surprise. The later smirking at their bewildered faces.

"We're not children, bastard!" Naruto yelled waving a fist in the air.

"No." he tilted his head to the side as he regarded the two. "But you act like ones."

"Look who's talking, Mr. Inferiority Complex." Sayuri crossed her arms with a smirk of her own.

"I don't have an inferiority complex." He said through clenched teeth.

Nest to Sasuke, Sakura started laughing. The group turned to the happy pinkette waiting for her to settle down.

"I'm…" she started, trying to catch her breath. "I'm…Sorry…It's just that…" she took a deep breath as she began to calm down. "It's just that, it's been a while since we all acted like…well like us again." The three ninja turned to each other and smiled.

"It feels good." Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Are you kidding?! feels great!" Naruto exclaimed, bright smile on his face.

A small smile played on Sasuke's lips, mismatched eyes shifting to the laughing medic at his side to the grinning blonde and finally to the smiling auburn haired young woman. He watched her closely as she talked to the blonde next to her, nodding and responding. Beside him, Sakura shifted her own green orbs to the laughing blonde, feeling a slight pang of jealousy at how easier it was, lately, for Naruto to talk to Sayuri than it was for her. On the other hand, both Naruto and Sayuri tried to ignore the couple sitting across from them, trying to make things a little less awkward, and trying to ignore the feelings of jealousy they harbored to themselves.

 **A.N.**

 **I want to thank you all for all your reviews and your PM's I really appreciate it. I know this chapter wasn't all that eventful, but the next chapter will be. Once again thank you all for your support and I look forward to reading your opinions! Please review! Until next time :)**


	10. Marking

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Marking

The buzzling of the festival could be heard from her room. People were arriving to Sunagakure in masses. From the windows one could see the bright lights of the many stalls and games that were set up within the village center. Children ran happily tugging their friends and family members as the passed their tower. They yelled and squealed in delight, adults laughed and talked amongst themselves, their voices muffled as they went by.

Inside her own room, Sayuri rubbed her arm, mismatched eyes shifting from the green kimono to the yellow kimono. She let the towel slip off, the white fabric pooling at her feet as she reached for the black one piece first then for the yellow kimono, slipping on the white juban, tying it securely around her waist, and making sure the collar was folded correctly. She then slid on the yellow kimono, wrapping the smooth fabric around her and finally tying it with the belt. She stopped and turned to the mirror making sure that it was on straight and adjusting uneven parts. She moved to get pick up the purple obi and tied it around her torso. When she was done she looked at herself in the mirror and frowned.

"I need to fix my hair." She mumbled and with a sigh picked up the brush.

XXX

Gaara and Naruto were catching up when the door to the Kage's office opened. "Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, bright blue eyes blinking a few times as his smile widened. "You look amazing!" he complimented without a second thought. At his comment the medic blushed, a giggle escaping her lips, eyes flickering to the wooden floor.

"Thank you." She replied, lifting a hand to brush away stray bangs.

Naruto smiled warmly at her. She really did look great. Her red kimono, decorated with white sakura blossoms complemented her. Sakura returned the smile, feeling oddly giddy at the fact that he had thought she looked good. The door opened and Sasuke stepped into the room, donning his usual ninja attire, like Naruto.

The Uchiha examined the pinkette and nodded. "You look good." Was his compliment for her, to which Sakura smiled and quietly thanked him but not with as much enthusiasm as she had Naruto. At the realization, she wondered why exactly it was that she wasn't getting the same tingling feeling in her chest with Sasuke like she did before.

"Oh, hey!" the group turned to Kiba and his team as they entered the office as well. "I thought you'd take longer to get ready."

"It appears that you were wrong." Shino said as he held open the door for Hinata who entered the room gracefully, whispering her thanks to her teammate as she patted down her own lavender kimono. Hinata looked over to the redhead sitting at his desk, who noticed and sent a warm smile her way along with a short nod.

"Hey wait up!" Hajime's voice was heard down the hall. Shino turned and continued to hold the door open for the team. "C'mon you two we're late!"

"Actually you're on time…" Shino began but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The bug user turned to Diachi.

"Don't bother, he's a lost cause."

"HEY!"

"Stop it."

Green orbs slid to the shorter auburn haired young woman as she stepped into the room. She moved across the room with as much grace as she could muster, which wasn't much considering she tripped twice on her way over to stand before the kage. Hajime watched as she moved her hands from her sides to her front, trying to figure out where to put them until she finally decided on clasping them at her lap. With a frown he watched Sasuke's eyes on her until the man realized he was being watched, at which he turned to the redhead.

"As you know the ninja at the gates will be carefully monitoring everyone that comes in and out of Suna. There are also more ninja on active duty tonight, and since it's women they are after Sayuri and Sakura will be posing as civilians. If Naoki shows up or anyone else you might suspect of being involved with them, do not engage."

"Why not?" asked Hajime.

"Because we could be wrong and be wasting our time and there could be more people involved therefore more kidnappings right under our noses. Correct?" Diachi turned to Sayuri and Gaara.

"Yes." The two nodded.

"We need to find out if there are more, and why they are doing this, so getting captured is most likely an outcome. Hinata will be with me and her team to keep up a semblance of normality amongst the increased security. The rest of you will be shadowing Sayuri and Sakura in search of suspicious activity. We need to lure this man or men out, find out what they do, and what they want."

"Aww! Why can't we go too?" Kiba whined while Akamaru barked.

"That is because, we were sent here as ambassadors. In order to keep up appearances we need to be with Lord Kazekage. That is why." Shino said as he pushed up his glasses.

"Bah!" Kiba grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Everyone else gets to have all the fun."

"That's even if they take the bait." The dog master tilted his head to Sayuri. "I don't know what exactly they're looking for in these women, they may be picking them out at random, they may not." She turned to Sakura who crossed her arms over her chest. "We have no idea if they're bringing other people or if it's just going to be Naoki. I'm not even sure what he does to the girls when he picks them. You _need_ to be on alert." She emphasized.

"You don't have to tell me that." Sakura smirked. "Tell them." She gestured to the boys.

"Hinata, will you be able to keep track of them once we're out there?" Gaara asked.

"Yes." The young woman said with clear determination.

"And if they get lost you've got me!" Kiba announced, rubbing his nose with a wolfish grin.

"I will attach a kikaichū on both you any way." Shino added raising a finger.

Both girls tried to smile at the sight of two of the female bugs crawling out of jacket. "T-thanks, Shino…" they said uneasily as the beetles flew up to them crawling behind the neck of their kimono. At the feeling of the insect moving on their back the two froze.

"Please do your best." Said Gaara as he moved to the entrance. "You are dismissed."

XXX

Children pushed past Sayuri, squealing in delight as they did so. They couldn't care less about the young woman who frantically waved her arms at her sides to keep her balance.

'Careful there, you might ruin the kimono.' She heard Hajime snicker through the intercom.

Pursing her lips, Sayuri patted her yellow kimono and straightened up. She moved from one stall to the next smiling at the men that stared at her for a bit too long, but none of them approached her and the one that did won her a stuffed animal but was called by his friends not too long after.

"Any luck, Sakura?" she whispered as she left a stall, turtle in hand.

'Nope.' Came her response. The pink haired medic sighed, holding two stuffed animals and the contact information of three men but nothing else.

'Hey maybe if Naruto does his Sexy Jutsu we'll get their attention!' Hajime joked.

'Not a chance!' the blonde replied.

Sayuri thought about Naruto walking around in his version of the perfect woman and giggled. Not really looking where she was going another child ran into her making her loose her balance and falling forward into the arms of another gentleman who groaned as the two hit the ground.

"Well you must be an angel." Sayuri stiffened, light and dakr blue eyes on the red kimono of the man. That voice she recognized that voice. She looked up, her mismatched blue eyes meeting his purple. "Yup, definitely an angel."

'Is that…?' She ignored Diachi and forced a shy smile.

"Well…I wouldn't know about that." She pushed herself up fighting back a recoil at his hand sliding down her side as she did so. "Sorry." Said when he stood and offered her a hand.

"Oh, no." he smirked. "No need to be sorry, I was actually thinking that there would be no one interesting in this entire festival." He leaned down and plucked the turtle from the ground, lifting it to eyelevel and examining it. "Boyfriend?"

Sayuri forced herself to look embarrassed. "No, someone won that for me."

'Who is Sayuri talking too?' Naruto asked, he was perched on top of a roof, blue eyes on Sakura who had stopped to listen to the conversation, while nodding and pretending to listen to another man that stopped to talk to her.

'Naoki.' Sasuke said, eyes narrowed at Sakura's back.

'What where!?' Naruto demanded.

Hajime moved closer to his female teammate, but kept a good amount of distance between them. 'He's with Sayuri, by the masks.'

'Don't let her out of your sight!' Sasuke warned.

Naoki handed her the turtle. "A husband?" She shook her head.

"No."

"Good." He smiled. "Husbands can be…troublesome."

"Oh?" she titled her head, playing coy. "How so?"

"They get in the way, for one." He offered his hand to her. "My name is Naoki, and yours?"

"Sayuri."

"Well Sayuri, how would you like if I accompanied you at the festival?"

Sayuri giggled. "I would like that." She responded taking his arm and following his lead.

XXX

Sasuke listened intently to what the other two were saying. His fist tightened each time Naoki spoke to her, or when his voice would get louder indicating that he was leaning very close to Sayuri. He gritted his teeth at every giggle or flirtatious reply from the auburn haired girl. He hated everything about this mission. She shouldn't be out there with that man, what if he recognizes her.

'You have beautiful eyes, Sayuri.' He heard him say over the intercom. 'I've never seen anything like them.'

'Thank you, you've got beautiful eyes yourself, Naoki,'

Naruto looked away from the laughing Sakura to the pissed off Uchiha. He looked just about ready to set a building on fire. He turned back to Sakura who shook her head at the man currently flirting wither her. He knew exactly what Sasuke was feeling.

'It's almost time for the fireworks.' They heard Naoki say. At that they all perked up. 'I would like to take you somewhere special, so we could watch them quietly.'

'I've got a visual on them. They're by the games, there are a lot of people, please be careful.' Hinata said. The young Hyūga stood by Gaara, Byakugan activated.

'Don't worry, we got her.' Hajime assured.

'Would you like to see it?'

'Where is it?' they heard Sayuri ask feigning interest.

'Over there.' There was a pause and a rustling of fabric.

'Shit!' They all heard Hajime's curse.

Sasuke felt his heart drop and a sudden emptiness at the pit of his stomach. "Where the fuck are they!?"

'I don't know! They vanished!' Diachi replied in a panic.

'I can't see them, they're out of my range.' Hinata said, voice rising in nervousness. 'He used a reverse summon.'

'Will you look at this…' they all froze at the male voice over the intercom. 'An undercover ninja.' Naoki chuckled. 'I hope it was worth risking her pretty little head.' They all cried out in pain, pulling out their ear pieces at the high pitched whistling sound that came from the other end.

Recovering quickly, Sasuke raised the earpiece to his other ear. "Tell me you know where she is, Shino." There was no hiding the urgency in his voice.

'Yes.' That was all he needed to vanish in a blink of an eye. Bellow Sakura watched her boyfriend disappear from his spot, emerald green orbs turned to Naruto as he landed next to her effectively scaring the flirting man off.

"Let's go." She said firmly.

XXX

" **Sasuke…SASUKE!"**

The familiar scream brought her back to her senses. Sayuri groaned at the pain all over her body, she began to mover her hand to ease the headache developing but found that she couldn't. Suddenly more alert, Sayuri first heard the complaints and groans of the other women. There were eight of them in all. Each tied to trees that surrounded a very small clearing. At the center of it all stood eight men, writing on the ground beneath their feet. She followed a trail of writing that pointed in her direction and found that it ran up the center of the kimono and around her torso to her arms and up to her neck.

"You're awake, my little Sayuri." Sayuri turned to her right watching Naoki as he smirked at her, leaning against the tall tree. "You know for all of this to work, you have to be awake." She pulled at the restraints but found them impossible to break without help. Above her Naoki laughed as he moved to squat before her. "You know, if it wasn't for the intercom I would have never found out you were a ninja. Tell me, did the Kazekage warn you about me?" He laughed again. "Actually I bet he didn't even know what to warn you about!"

Sayuri glared at the laughing man. "Why are you doing this?"

Naoki tilted his head, moving to push a strand of hair behind her ear, but she recoiled back in disgust. "I guess you should know, since you might just die tonight. It's a marking, my boss is looking for the perfect vessel but in order to do that he needs to mark them…We mark you and if you survive we take you back to him and he does what he needs to do."

"Mark us? What kind of twisted ass hole do you work for!?"

"He didn't give us his name, he just hired us." Naoki shrugged. "He didn't really give us too many specifics, just to look for young women." He smiled "And I think I found myself a good one."

"Go screw yourself."

Naoki's black brows shot up in amusement. "You've got quite a mouth on you." He moved to tilt her head up to him. "I like that." A smirk formed on his lips as he pulled back. "Maybe if you survive this, He'll let to spend some more time with you."

"We're ready." A man shouted a man who stood at the center of the clearing.

"Are they all awake?" Naoki asked.

"Yes, sir!"

He turned his purpled orbs back to her. "Time to go." He laughed as he strolled over to the center of the clearing facing her. "Start the marking!" he ordered and soon they eight men began to go through five seals, as each seal was formed the writing began to glow. At the final seal the glowing red writing began to slither back to the girls, crawling up their laps and to their wrists and necks.

Sayuri sucked in her breath, biting her lip at the burning sensation. Around her the women screamed and cried for it to stop. One of them, a pretty blue haired one, slumped forward, eyes wide open and mouth ajar. The man standing before quickly moved up to her taking her vitals. Sayuri tried hard to concentrate on what the man was doing. Watching through barely opened eyes how he pulled her head back and quickly formed three seals than, placed his hand over her face watching it burn and disappear leaving the woman faceless. To her right another young woman slumped to her side, not moving and again the man that brought her there ran to her and the process was redone.

Sayuri felt the searing hot pain shift to a biting cold, her wrists and neck hurt to the point that she cried out, but found that she could hear nothing, she cried but nothing would come out. Every part of her burned and begged for the pain to cease, but that wouldn't come until the red glowing stopped, replaced by silence. Sayuri slid to her side, and found that all the pain, the burning, and the cold were gone, as if nothing had ever happened. She looked around her still in shock and found that the remaining seven women were dead. Still disoriented she managed to look up at the grinning Naoki. He laughed and pointed to himself, but she couldn't understand what he was saying, it all sounded muffled and far away. Suddenly Naoki was thrown off to the side by a blur of yellow. One of the men doubled over and fell, the ground in front of her broke and sand threw another man off to the side like a rag doll.

Something dark moved in front of her and she could feel a warm hand cupping her cheek. Her mismatched red and blue met mismatched sharingan and rinnegan eyes. Suddenly those eyes vanished replaced by bright green ones.

"Son of a-"

"Sayuri, Sayuri, can you hear me?"

"WHERE IS HE!?"

"Sasuke, calm down."

"Hinata, are you alright?"

"Diachi, are they…?"

"This is a mess…"

"My bugs can't detect him within the area."

The voices were loud, assaulting her hearing. It felt as if everything around her shattered, all of a sudden she could hear again, but there were too many voices, too many sounds, it was hard to concentrate.

"Sayuri!" Sayuri blinked and her hands were at her throat. "You're ok…" Sakura spoke in a soothing tone. "I've got you."

"Sa-Sakura…?" the pink haired medic nodded. Her eyes shifted to the women still tied to the trees. "They're all…?" Sakura looked over her shoulder to Diachi who looked away. "I couldn't do anything…I'm sorry."

"Sayuri? What's wrong?" she heard Sasuke call out.

"Sayuri!" She heard Sakura call her name but she couldn't see anything anymore.

XXX

"I don't know what they did to her, but it seems that she'll recover just fine." Sakura said, green glow vanishing from her hands as she stepped back. She reached for the hair tie and pulled it off, letting her pink hair fall. Sakura turned away from the resting Marihasha to the standing Uchiha. "I can't find anything out of the ordinary."

"I see." He nodded.

Sakura bit her lip, hands clasped together. "Can we talk?"

Sasuke's eyes shifted to her, watching carefully as she walked to the door and pulled it open waiting for him to go. Quietly he did, stepping out into the hall, letting Sakura close the door to Sayuri's room, and following her to the rooftop. Once outside the chilly air made his skin prickle but he ignored it and kept his eyes on the quiet medic before him.

"We should break up." Sasuke blinked, a bit taken aback. "You don't love me, that much was obvious…you never really did." Her eyes were downcast, and her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "But you love her. I could see it…even before it was actual love, back when we were genin." His eyes widened at that and Sakura looked up at him. "I don't know when it turned into love, but it was already there when you were at the Land of Iron and again the year before we-" her voice broke and her eyes swam with tears. "…But you said yes anyway and I was so happy. I thought that you could love me the way I did when we were genin." She laughed and wiped away the tears. "I should have known better honestly. Seriously, you're always aware of her even if you're not conscious about it. Your body is always aware and you go after her without a second thought, and last night…you didn't even go after Naoki, you went straight to her."

Sasuke averted his gaze, feeling uncomfortable by the extent of which Sakura had seen and learned about him. When he found her at that clearing, he didn't think he just reacted and his reaction was to go to her. He took pride in knowing himself better than anyone, yet here was his teammate telling him about things that he didn't notice he did. A feat he thought only Naruto could do.

"Sakura…" he began, eyes meeting her again. "I'm sorry."

Sakura laughed, hands wiping away tears again. "You don't need to apologize. It's ok…I'm going to be ok. I just…I don't want to lie to myself anymore." She smiled sweetly up at him. "Thank you for showing me that."

"You're a good friend."

She shook her head. "I'm starting to picture myself as more of a sister."

Sasuke offered her a smile. "Sister, then." He said with a short nod. She walked past him, patting his shoulder, but paused at the door.

"Whatever happened last year, you two can fix it." She said with so much certainty he almost believed it, but Sasuke didn't reply, and she didn't expect him too. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and left Sasuke to himself.

 **A.N.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for all the reviews I really appreciate it! You are all amazing! Please let me know how I'm doing by leaving me a review! Thank you all for all the support!**


	11. Once

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Once

He held her hand for longer each time he came to visit. At first it was for a few seconds, but as the time passed she found him holding on to her hand for longer, and she didn't want to pull away. Whether it was to pull her up or to catch if she tripped, which was becoming a new habit of hers around him, he always held on to her hand.

It was during that time that she saw him smile more. At Naruto, at Sakura, at Kakashi-sensei…at her. And it always made her heart flutter. Now with her memories back she remembered his young boyish grin, the one he'd always show her way when he won a game, and she found that even though his new smile was small, and rare at times, it still contained the same amount of joy. Just more restrained joy.

" **I've got you!"** The image of the Uchiha vanished and was quickly replaced by that of Black Zetsu holding a kunai over his head. The metal object glinted in the moonlight and she was able to catch her reflection. This time the eyes that reflected back at her were not the light and dark green belonging to her clone, instead they were her own red and blue.

As he brought down the kunai at her chest. Time slowed down until it came to a complete halt, the kunai just a few centimeters away from her chest.

" **Sayuri…"** She blinked and Sasuke was staring down at her, holding a hand out to her. Hesitantly she took it and he pulled her up. He smirked down at her as she stared dumbly up at him. **"Be careful."** Her eyes shifted to their hands, his still holding on to hers.

" **Are you going to let go anytime soon, Uchiha? I've got a mission."** The words left her mouth before she realized it and he smiled down at her. She took a step forward and she was once again surrounded by trees.

" **Sasuke…SASUKE!"**

"Sayuri!" she gasped, eyes blinking open. Sasuke was standing over her, hand on her shoulder shaking her awake. "Wake up."

One of her hands went to his cheek, and she through her haze she felt him freeze.

"You're ok…" she sighed.

"Yes." He nodded once and she smiled and let out a relieved laugh. Her eyes were unfocused and he could tell she was drifting back into unconsciousness.

"Don't do it again."

He watched the small smile slip, her hand moving back to its spot at her side as she drifted back to sleep.

XXX

"That's what I remember…" Sayuri said as she handed Gaara a piece of paper. On it were words written in black ink. Aqua green eyes moved from right to left reading each word but it made no sense to him. His eyes switched back to the young woman on the bed, her hands neatly folded on her lap mismatched eyes intently on him.

"I can't make sense of this."

"Me neither. It's not a language I recognize."

"There's not a mark on you." Hajime spoke from his spot against the wall. "It's as if nothing had happened."

Sayuri nodded, eyes shifting down to her wrists. She wondered about that too. Unconsciously she reached for her neck, fingers tracing the smooth unmarked skin. "I don't understand that either. When it happened it felt like it was burning."

At the foot of her bed Sakura laid a hand on Sayuri's leg. "Do you feel anything now?"

She shook her head. "My chakra is normal. There's no blockage or strange fluctuation, I feel perfectly fine."

Gaara took a look at the paper in his hands one more time. "Maybe there are others. Other girls that survived and are going about their business as if nothing ever happened."

"I don't think so." Sayuri responded quickly. "Naoki said that if I survived he'd take me to their employer. So if any of the other girls survived…"

"They'd be with the nut job that hired those men." Sakura finished for her.

"Did you find anything on the other girls?" Gaara asked, turning to Diachi. The brunette stood at the side of the room, along with the rest of team seven and team eight.

"Their chakra pathways were burned, like someone ignited a flame in them. It goes along with Sayuri's description of the ordeal." He shifted his brown eyes to the Marihasha. "Maybe it was your chakra nature that kept you alive."

Sayuri's brows dipped and she bit her bottom lip. "Maybe." She mumbled, eyes flickering to the pink haired medic, shiver running down her back at the thought of Sakura being kidnapped by Naoki instead of her.

"In any case I've let the Hokage know of what happened. He wants you to return to the village as soon as Sayuri is able. Team Kurenai is to stay and finish the remainder of their mission." Gaara said.

"Well if that's the case, I feel perfectly fine right now."

"Sayuri…" Sakura began. "Are you sure? What you went through wasn't exactly normal."

"I'll be fine." The auburn haired girl waved.

"But-" Before Sakura could finish her protest Sayuri slid of the bed and stood.

"I rested long enough last night." She stretched her arms above her head to prove a point. "I feel completely normal."

Sakura pursed her lips, bright eyes on the young woman in front of her. "Oh, all right." She sighed and Sayuri beamed. "But if I notice something odd, we'll stop and rest. I don't care if it takes us a week to get back to Konoha!" she quickly added. Behind Sayuri, the others laughed nervously, knowing that Sakura would go through with the promise.

"Right!" Sayuri gave her a curt nod.

"If you are leaving today I suggest you be careful. These men, got away and they may come back for you." Gaara warned Sayuri.

"Well we're not letting them get anywhere near her." Naruto assured. "We'll get her back behind Konoha's walls safe and sound!" Sayuri looked to the smiling blonde and nodded.

XXX

Mismatched blue and red eyes flutter open, their bright color glowing in the dark room. She turned her head to the right where Sakura slept soundly, pink hair splayed out beneath her, its color muted by the night. She turned back to stare at the white ceiling above, placing a hand on her chest to slow her frantically beating heart. The knot in her chest slowly but surely dissolved into nothing and she could breathe again.

Beside her Sakura stirred but quickly settled down facing away from her. Sayuri smiled, grateful for the konoichi's efforts in making sure she was feeling well. The minute they found the inn that night, Sakura was quick to inform them that she planned to spending the night with her and keep an eye out in case her condition changed.

Sayuri smiled at the memory and quietly slid out of her futon, grabbing her cloak and sliding the door to her shared room shut. The cold night air only reminded her of the nightmare. She ran a hand through her hair and decided to take a seat, letting her bare feet fall over the edge of the porch, not quite touching the cold grass.

"It's a bit late to be out here. Don't you think." Sasuke's low voice startled her. She jumped and gripped her cloak. "Letting your guard down. Like always." he chided as he sat down beside her.

"Ah." She mumbled, hands falling to her lap.

He watched her watch the moon from the corner of his eyes. "You should be sleeping."

"I could say the same about you." she asked, turning to him with a raised brow.

He turned to face her and felt his heart skip. Curious eyes stared up at him, in the same manner he recalled her doing when they had first met as children. "I'm keeping watch."

Sayuri pursed her lips and nodded. "Sorry about that."

"It's not your fault. You didn't let your guard down that time."

Sayuri nodded, and with a gentle laugh she elbowed him playfully. "Then you can't say I _always_ let my guard down, Sasuke."

Taken a bit by surprise at her actions, Sasuke decided to play along. "Fine." He sighed. "You let your guard down _most_ of the time. Better?"

"Ah." She smiled at him and at the return of his own small one hers disappeared. Instead she felt heat rise to her cheeks. His black hair contrasted with his pale skin, cold black eyes warmed at the kind smile he offered. She knew what other women saw in Sasuke, she had come to acknowledge it for some times now. He was handsome, yes, but to her his appeal had never been the cold aloofness he liked to show to the world. No. To her his appeal lied in the warmth, the kindness that he was capable of showing to others.

In that moment the knotting that had formed in her chest returned and this time she recognized the feeling as fear. She was afraid not of him, but of what others could do to him because of her.

At her silence, Sasuke's smile faded away, kind eyes remained watching her carefully as she extended a hand towards him. He remained perfectly still with baited breath, watching her fingers twitch in the air just a few centimeters from his cheek before her hand froze and she quickly pulled it back to her lap, looking away.

"What is it?" he asked.

For a second she thought about telling him. Reminding him of that night but just as the words were about slip through her lips she stopped herself. With a shake of the head she got up and walked back to the door of her room.

"Good night, Sasuke."

XXX

Sayuri frowned as she plucked a leaf out of her hair. She sat on a rock, food on her lap while the others ate. Blowing the leaf off her hand she turned back to her half eaten food. Next to her Diachi drank water and Hajime reached for another rice ball. Across from them, Sakura sat against a tree, conversing with Naruto whose grin seemed to only brighten by the second, while Sasuke leaned on the tree next to theirs, food finished and arms crossed over his chest.

A cold breeze made the leaves rustle and Sayuri's head snapped to her right at the sound.

 _It's just leaves. There's no one there._ She thought, forcing her body to relax and taking another bite of her food. _Just one more day and this mission's over._ She mentally sighed. If it was up to her they wouldn't have stopped to eat in the middle of the woods, but Hajime had insisted on getting food from the inn they had stayed at the night before and then he all but whined about his food going bad if they didn't eat soon.

"Hey…" Diachi nudged her leg and she nearly screamed. The muffled squeal made the rest of the ninja turn to Sayuri with raised brows. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine." She quickly cut him off and packed her food away.

"You didn't finish." Hajime pointed out, pushing himself up to stand.

"I wasn't hungry."

From his spot, Sasuke noticed her fidgeting and straightened up. "We should get moving. It'll be nightfall soon." From the corner of his eye he caught Sayuri give him a grateful smile.

The group agreed and quickly packed their belongings and got moving. They ran once again, leaping into the trees, Naruto in the lead. Sayuri kept pace with Sakura and noticed Sasuke not too far ahead of them. She looked around her, avoiding getting smacked by a few branches, nerves fried as she tried to keep on alert. Knowing that she could possibly be hunted down by Naoki didn't exactly help her relax while being simultaneously surrounded by trees. Eager to get her mind off the man she decided to start a conversation, anything really to help her relax, and she found it in the distance between the blonde and raven haired men.

"It's a miracle." Sayuri muttered catching Sakura's attention.

"What is?"

"That those two aren't acting like brats and turning this into a competition." Sakura's eyes widened, and looked from Sasuke who openly glared at the two girls, to Naruto who looked over his shoulder clearly offended. The medic couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled out of her at the indignation of her two teammates.

"I happen to have grown up quite a bit since then!" Naruto retorted waving a fist comically at them.

"Really? Where?" Hajime teased. Sakura covered her mouth to keep her laughter down and Sayuri smiled.

"Why does everyone pick on me! Why not the bastard!?"

"Because old Sasuke here, is scary." The silver haired man replied, then turned to Sasuke with a half-smile. "It's true."

"Sasuke's not scary." Said Sakura as she moved to a higher branch along with Sayuri, who tilted her head to her. "He's…"

"Dreamy?" Sayuri playfully finished for the medic who was quick to smack her arm. "Ow!"

"I was going to say moody." At that Sasuke nearly gaped at Sakura who smiled and with a shrug of her shoulders and leapt onto another branch.

Sayuri watched Sasuke and couldn't help but grin at the wide eyed look he directed at them. "I'd have to agree."

Ahead of them Naruto snickered. "Hear that bastard, they called you moody."

"Shut up, looser."

"You shut-" Before the blonde could finish his sentence, he came to an abrupt stop and jumped back avoiding a paper bomb.

Watching this, Sayuri turned to her left and yanked Sakura's arm to pull her back and away from another one. In the process the pinkette lost her balance and began to fall back when Naruto jumped to catch her. Hajime and Diachi sprang forward deflecting the kunai that were being thrown their way, pushing Sayuri back. The Marihasha leapt down onto another branch when the tree she was on began to rock forward.

"Move!" Sasuke yelled, yanking her by the arm. They quickly leapt unto another tree only for that one to do the same. Each and every tree they landed on fell the minute their feet touched it.

"The ground!" she pointed just as the tree they were on began to rock forward. Pulling her to him Sasuke jumped down letting her go as soon as their feet touched the green earth. She took out a kunai and looked around her, and heard Naruto yell followed by the sound of loud explosion west of her.

"Naruto!" She called and began to make her way to him but a falling tree blocked her way. She bit he lip and began surveying the area once again. The trees hid anything and anyone from her view, all she saw was shadows. Hands trembling, she took a deep breath, gripped the kunai tightly, changing her chakra nature to that of earth, her red and blue eyes shifting to a light and dark green. "Come out!" Feeling a tug to her right she turned to it, but found it to be Naruto and Sakura. To her left she sensed Hajime and Diachi.

"Sayuri!" She turned in time to see Sasuke launch at her, shoving her out of the way from a water bullet. The two turned around focusing on the direction of where the attack came from, but could sense no one. Sayuri pushed her hand into the moist grass when she felt it.

A small flicker to her right.

"Earth Wall!" she said just as another water bullet hit the rising wooden barrier. There was another ahead of them, this time a water dragon. Before it could even strike, Sayuri fell on her bottom, Sasuke's hand on her shoulder as they stared directly at spot they had been occupying just a few seconds ago.

Confused she blinked up at the reddening sky above, the sun was setting and that meant it would be harder for them to find their attacker. "Did you use your rinnegan?"

"Hn." She sat up and placed her hand on the ground again trying to focus on the same flickering feeling when it appeared once again.

"Earth Spikes!" she yelled concentrating her chakra to her left as the earth before her split as jagged rocks split the ground open, but there was nothing.

"They're jumping."

"Jumping? As in leaping from one place to the other?" Sayuri asked.

"No. It's a-" He picked her up and she found herself falling onto the ground, this time on her knees. "They're using reverse summoning." He turned to his right feeling as if something was there and winced feeling a very faint shock on his arm, retracting it to his side he flexed his fingers in confusion.

"That explains why I can't figure out where they are until the very last-" Sayuri began but was interrupted by the crackling and splitting of the tree next to them as it fell back, it's roots swinging wildly at them. The two pulled away from each other avoiding the roots and quickly formed five seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!"

The area was covered in red and white flames, the roots falling into burning heaps to the ground as the two ninja landed back to back kunai and katana out.

"My, my." A voice said from the shadows, a clapping sound echoed throughout the area. "You two are certainly impressive." The voice echoed.

"That's not Naoki." Sayuri whispered to Sasuke who began searching for the source of the voice with his rinnegan.

"So you're the one Naoki was bragging about. The girl with the light and dark blue eyes." Sasuke turned to Sayuri only to watch as she was roughly thrown aside. Her body hitting the ground twice as it slid to a halt. The young woman groaned when she was picked up by the neck by a purple haired man. "But your eyes aren't blue…mismatched blue and red…interesting case of heterochromia." The man looked over his shoulder just in time to avoid Sasuke's chidori at his side.

Sayuri fell to the ground coughing and holding her neck as Sasuke stood in front glaring at the man in front of him.

"Uchiha." He nodded, green eyes flickering to the girl on the ground.

"You were the one attacking us?" Sasuke asked incredulous.

"No." Both Sasuke and Sayuri turned to the left where Naoki emerged from the ground smiling. "It was a team effort to get her alone, but you never seem to be far." He tilted his head at Sayuri. "So you were the ninja from that town." He chuckled. "Who would've thought that I'd see you again. What do you think, Ryota?"

Sayuri's eyes fell on him, green replacing the red color of her right pupil for a split second before the red bled back into it, this time her left eye shifting to a golden color.

"She has the ability to sense chakra natures, then adjust her own accordingly." Ryota thought out loud, watching with interest the bright red and yellow of her eyes. Fire and lightning chakra to respond against his water and earth. "You're a Marihasha."

Sasuke caught the shift in the men's footing indicating that they were about to jump towards them. He quickly pulled out four shuriken and threw them aiming at Naoki, who deflected them easily with a kunai in each hand.

"Lightning Whip!" Sayuri yelled lighting chakra pouring out of her hand and extending outwards as she cracked it at Ryota. It wrapped around his ankle pulling him downward, shocking him along the way as she slammed him down only to see him disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"Very good." The Ryota praised as he came appeared before them, Naoki landing next to the man. "But I can't have you going around attacking us like that." He smiled and formed the seal of the tiger.

At her gasp, Sasuke turned to Sayuri who stared down at herself, wrists and neck glowing, writing, matching the scribbles on the paper he had seen yesterday, quickly spreading out to pool at her abdomen where the glowing intensified. Sayuri doubled over gripping her vest as the markings pulsed. Ryota suddenly emerged behind her about to reach for her when her body was replaced by a rock. Sayuri fell to the ground several feet away from him. His green eyes turned to Sasuke in amazement as he vanished into thin air only to reappear next to the auburn haired young woman.

"Now that's incredible!" he laughed.

"Sasuke." Sayuri said taking the man's hand as he pulled her to her feet. Feeling a breeze, she looked over her shoulder and found them to be near a ledge. "Sasuke…" He brushed away her bangs eyes widening at the now brown orbs. Focusing his sharingan he followed her diminished chakra pathways noticing how most of her chakra had been gathered into her center.

"What did you do!?" the Uchiha growled at the laughing man.

"It's the marking. It seems it worked perfectly." Ryota crossed his arms as he regarded the girl. "It can suppress chakra, and cancel any kekkei genkai…" he trailed off when for a split second he saw her eyes flash blue and purple, and feeling the wind pick up in speed. "Interesting. It would seem that I was wrong…the marking hasn't fully taken over."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Sasuke demanded as he moved to stand in front of her.

"There's something missing." The man mused, green eyes narrowed. "That won't do. It seems we have no use for you." He sighed.

"What!?" Naoki turned to Ryota in outrage. "Are you kidding me she's the closest one we've got!"

"No." the purple haired man replied. "Our employer has no need for incomplete markings." The ground suddenly began to tremble bellow them.

"Sayuri!" Sasuke turned to her just at the ground between the two split. Her eyes widened as she began to fall back. "Sayuri!" he yelled reaching out for her hand, catching it just in time, falling to his knees with her dangling from his only hand. He gritted his teeth when he heard slow footsteps behind him. He turned to them sharingan and rinnegan activated but a sharp, electric, prickling sensation ran up his spine until he could feel it in his head, causing an intense pressure behind his eyes.

Naoki laughed watching Sasuke's eyes revert back to their natural black color. "I managed to sneak in a small paralyzer into you. I'm sure you recall when."

Sasuke growled recalling the small shock he felt not too long ago. "So that was you." His only answer being Naoki's laugh, while he scolded himself for being careless.

"Now..." Ryota said as he began his slow walk over to the kneeling Uchiha. "…Let her go, and I won't push you over as well, we've got no interest in killing you."

"Speak for yourself." Naoki smirked.

Sayuri looked up at the man holding her, panic in her eyes. "Sasuke!"

"I know!" he said through gritted teeth. He tried using his rinnegan but to no avail, he had chakra left, he knew he did but it didn't help him much if his chakra was blocked off. "Damn it." He hissed, he couldn't pull her up either, the ground was still trembling and he was using his weight to keep himself from falling over too.

"If you keep holding on to her, I will kill you. There is no need for failures." The man's voice sounded far from him but the footsteps kept advancing.

Feeling the hand around her tighten Sayuri bit her lip. All of this too familiar to her. She chanced a look down and found nothing but trees bellow. She looked back up and found him struggling to hold her. He wouldn't let go, she knew that. She tried to use her own chakra, but she felt her chakra network blocked. That marking, whatever it was it effectively left her with just enough chakra to survive, but nothing else. She was essentially useless. The footsteps grew louder as the rumbling quieted down.

 _But back then, I could feel some of my chakra slipping through!_ She thought as she tried harder to push past the barrier that had been set up within her. Looking back down she wondered if she would even be able to survive the fall. Or maybe she would but heavily injured, but that would be only if she could get her chakra to work again.

Above her Sasuke gritted his teeth and Sayuri tilted her head back to look at him. He wouldn't let her fall, she knew that. But she couldn't let him risk his life for her. They said they wanted her gone, not him. Sayuri looked back down and bit her lip. She didn't want to risk his life.

"Sasuke…" Sayuri began. She looked up at him while he pressed more weight unto his knees to keep from falling over. "Sasuke let me go." She said again.

"No." he said, aware of the approaching man.

"For God's sake, Sasuke let me go. It's better if I fall than the both of us!" she yelled.

"Shut up!" he snapped. He couldn't hear the others, meaning their attackers successfully split them up and that there would be no help coming anytime soon. Sasuke cursed under his breath, eyes shifting to the trees bellow.

"Sasuke, look at me." Sayuri pleaded, gently this time. His eyes turned to her, widening slightly at the smile she wore. He felt his chest constrict, he had seen that smile before the first when he had said good bye to her at the rooftop of the academy, the second when they were at the bridge in the Land of Iron, and the third when she saw him in the hospital the year before. "It's ok." She said. "Let me go."

He looked down at her as she dangled from his arm in the air. He looked over his shoulder to the smirking man, now just a few steps away. If he let go, she'd most likely die. Sasuke narrowed his black orbs on her. He'd be damned if he didn't at least try one last thing. Sayuri gasped when Sasuke tilted forward and pulled her towards him, flipping them over in midair so that his back was towards the incoming trees below. Within seconds leaves, and branches scratched her face and arms as they continued to fall. Sayuri wrapped her arms around Sasuke, and willed her chakra to work only for it to come in a small burst of wind that partially curved around them for a few minutes until it disappeared leaving a painful burning at the center of her abdomen.

With the barrier gone the two felt the impact of a fully formed branch as they broke through it and suddenly they were immersed in water. Taken by surprise, Sayuri gasped taking a mouth full of water in. Just as shocked, Sasuke pushed his legs downward when they hit the bottom and swam upwards, Sayuri pulling him by the shirt as she too kicked her legs beneath her until they broke through the surface. She barely took a breath of air when the current swept them into a boulder splitting the two up.

"Sayuri!" Sasuke yelled as he pushed himself around the rock watching Sayuri drift and hit a fallen tree.

The current lifted and dragged him forward despite his best efforts to keep him grounded, until Sayuri grabbed his arm and pulled him to her. The two pulled themselves towards the shore, and once their feet hit the pebbled littered ground they fell to their hands and knees, attempting to catch their breaths.

Her arms wobbled below her as her breathing evened out. She looked to Sasuke who remained on his feet, but bent forward hand on his knee.

"You're…an…idiot…" Sayuri panted.

"We're…alive…aren't we?"

"We almost died…and your making light of it!?" Sayuri scoffed and pushed herself up, only to stumble forward. Sasuke caught her before she fell and held her steady.

"Believe it or not, I've learned to lighten up." He smirked down at her watching her cheeks darken. He felt strange, and something told him it had something to do with almost falling to his death.

"Good for you." She breathed, wincing as she laid a hand on her stomach. "My everything burns."

Sasuke kept his arm on her and looked up. The sky had been obscured by the canopy of trees, but he had a feeling that the sun had already set.

"Whoever this guy is, he chooses his… _employees_ well." He said, trying to activate his sharingan and rinnegan but failing. He watched her as she knelt down pressing a palm into the ground.

"I was able to make that small barrier, maybe if I try a little harder I'll-" he kneeled down beside her and pulled her hand off the ground.

"Stop. They're alive." Sasuke said as he looked around him.

"Are you sure?"

"My chakra's blocked but I can still sense Naruto. If he's alive then the others most likely are too, besides they were after you not them."

She looked around her eyes landing back on him but she quickly averted her gaze. "We're soaking wet. We'll catch cold if we don't find a dry place to warm up." She mumbled already feeling the cold.

"I think I know where we are." He said, eyes on a particular tree.

"Oh?" she turned to him hopeful but frowned turning back to look in the general direction that they had come from. "Should we really leave this spot thought? What about the others?"

"I'm sure Naruto will figure it out. In the mean time I need to recover my own chakra and we need to take shelter."

He gestured for her to follow as he began to walk down the river. They followed it, all the while Sayuri pulled her cloak closer to her to keep whatever heat there was left, but it was in vain as the cold winter air only managed to make her feel as if her bones were made of ice. When the river split into two Sasuke led her away from it and towards the forest. She paused for a moment and Sasuke turned back to her.

"There's a cabin not far from this point."

"How are you so sure?"

"You see that rock." He motioned for the small boulder that sat in the middle of the small piece of land that split the river in two. She narrowed her eyes and saw the Kanji for Hebi, she turned back to Sasuke in surprise. "Suigetsu brought me here a while back. He left traps scattered around the area, we were lucky enough to fall into the river and not on one of them."

"Traps?" Sayuri asked wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered on the spot. "Well _that_ makes me feel safe."

"Don't worry," he smiled at her despite the cold that he felt. "I know where they are."

"That's reassuring." She cast a glance at the trees again and took a deep breath. "Ok…"

Sasuke turned back to the path leading her further in until they reached a small cabin imbedded into a cave. He opened the unlocked door and let her through. Sayuri looked around at the wooden building and rubbed her arms to keep herself warm. The dark room was suddenly bathed in a warm yellow-orange light causing her to jump slightly at its sudden appearance. She turned around in time to watch Sasuke put a box of matches on top of the small chimney.

"You still can't use your chakra?"

He shook his head and turned to her watching the shadows dance across her small frame. "Come." He told her as he led her to a bedroom. She stood at the doorway while he continued on to the closet, sliding the door open. He pulled out two white kimonos and handed one to her. "I'll be in the other room, change and hang your clothes to dry."

Sayuri took the white clothing with a light huff. "I know what I need to do, Sasuke."

He nodded as he walked away. When the door slid closed, Sayuri began to peel her drenched clothes off. She pulled the white sleeping kimono on, and let out a content smile at the warmth. Pulling her hair out of the ponytail it was in, she opened the door and began to hang the clothes near the fireplace. She sat on the floor, letting her feet warm up and waited for Sasuke to come out but as five minutes turned into ten, she frowned. Pushing herself up, she padded over to the other room and knocked.

"Sasuke?" she asked.

"I'm still changing."

Sayuri raised a brow. "It takes you more than ten minutes to change?" she asked incredulous. She stood quiet outside his door and after a few more seconds, she heard him hiss. Brows dipped in concern and she knocked again. "Sasuke?"

"Go, Sayuri."

She heard him hiss again, recalling how he took much of the impact from the fall; she knocked once more. "I'm coming in."

Sayuri slid the door open and found Sasuke's clothes hanging on the chairs in the room, and the Uchiha seated on the bed, ointment in hand and bandages at his side.

"I'll be fine." He said and reached to rub the cream over his shoulder.

Sayuri placed a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. "It's not bad to ask for help once in a while." She scolded and began to approach him, taking the small bottle and dipping her fingers in it. She sat behind him and gently applied the cream where she saw the scratches. She felt his back stiffen when she touched him but continued to work past it. "You've only got a couple scratches…surprisingly." She pulled away when she was done reached from the bandages when his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She watched him pull back her sleeve and for the first time noticed her own cuts.

"I don't have many, because you had your arms covering my back." He said, his voice sounding distant as he began to gently rub the ointment on her arms. He plucked the white bandages from her hand and wrapped her arms instead. When he pulled away he looked back up at Sayuri whose eyes slowly met his.

"Thank you, for protecting me." She said just above a whisper.

His own black eyes ghosted over to her lips then back to her orbs, admiring how the moonlight hit her features. "You're my teammate."

Sayuri felt her cheeks heat up at their proximity, watching how she could almost see her reflection in his black orbs. Slowly as to not startle her, he reached to brush her hair behind her ears watching her cheeks turn a deeper shade of pink.

"We should…" Sayuri pulled away, clearing her throat. "We should…we should go and warm up." She stood and took a step forward but a firm grip on her forearm stopped her. Turning back, she looked up at Sasuke in surprise.

"You always pull away." He mumbled watching her blink owlishly at him. "Why?"

She averted her now brown eyes, biting her lip, eyebrows dipping. "I can't…"

"Is it because of what happened during your mission?"

"Sasuke…" she sighed but at the feeling of his fingers tightening around her arm she looked back up. "I don't want…"

"You don't what, Sayuri?" He narrowed his eyes down at the young woman. He knew now was not the best time to confront her about it but he was done with her warming up to him only to pull away. "What is it? What aren't you telling me!?"

"Sasuke…" she sighed, meeting his eyes and a felt her throat dry up. His eyes were focused only on her, and she could almost see the pain in anger in them. Sayuri could only watch as he leaned his head forward tapping his forehead to hers.

His eyes flickered to her bottom lip as her teeth grazed the reddened flesh. "For once…Just for once let me get close to you." At his words Sayuri stood on her toes to meet his lips with hers, all rational thought going out the window.

Sasuke's hand tangled itself in her moist auburn hair pulling her in for a deeper kiss. She slid her arms up his chest and around his neck, and he pushed her on her back unto the bed, one knee on the mattress as he leaned over her. The two broke apart for air only for a brief moment before they started again. She bit his bottom lip and rolled them over to change their positions. His hand moved to her hips as one of hers ran down his chest. She opened her mouth allowing him more access while he ran his hand up the swell of her hip and to her waist.

Sayuri pulled away, lips swollen, cheeks red, and hooded eyes as she cached her breath. She looked down at him watching how his eyes stayed on hers and feeling his hand tighten on her hip. Biting her lip, she sat on him and blinked, mesmerized by his groaned. His eyes trailed down her neck to her shoulder where the white clothing hung revealing the swell of her breast. He felt it hard to breathe and his body become warm. Feeling the same way, Sayuri shifted once more and this time a deep moan escaped Sasuke who held her firmly in place.

Sasuke watched her chest move up and down with her own slightly labored breathing. He forced himself to look up at the young woman's flushed face. He should stop her now, before any of this went too far.

"Just for once…" she whispered, her hands gently trailing up his chest, and just like that, the last pieces of sanity he had left were left in the dust. She didn't know what had come over her. All she knew was that at the moment she didn't want to care about Naruto, Sakura, Hajime, or Diachi. She just wanted to act, to do what she wanted to do just for once, regardless of the timing. She wanted to allow herself to be selfish, even if it's only for a little while.

He brought her head down and kissed her hard, like a man starved of water. Above him she moaned and shifted upwards again and gasped at the sensation. He began to trail kisses down her neck to the top of her breast. Sayuri felt a shiver run down her spine when she felt his hot breath on her skin and moved once more. Sasuke's hand pulled at the other half of her kimono, making it slide down and pool at her elbows, exposing the round mounds of flesh.

He looked back to Sayuri whose brows dipped, as she bit her lip. He swallowed hard when she moved to lean over him. He raised his hand to her cheek, tucking in her auburn hair behind her air. Above him, Sayuri leaned into his hand, closing her eyes at the warmth. She leaned forward placing a quick kiss on his lips and pulled back just enough so that the tip of their noses touched.

"Do it."

At her command his mouth went to one of her breasts while his hand cupped the other. Sayuri moaned lightly as he licked and sucked on them while she sat back on him, meeting her heat with his.

"Fuck." He cursed and pushed up against her making her arch her back at the sensation. She shifted up on her knees and pulled his kimono open. He slid his hand up her thigh, under her kimono, and pulled her underwear down while she helped him by pulling one leg out. She hovered over him and he held her there. "Sayuri…I-"

She placed a finger on his lips. "Just for tonight…I don't want to think about anything else. I want to, do you?" She breathed, cheeks reddening at the admission.

He nodded swallowing hard. "Yes."

And with that he brought her down on him slowly, hand under her kimono and gripping her hip as her face scrunched up at the discomfort and slight pain. She gasped when he was fully inside and he bit his lip, trying to keep still while she got used to him. She took deep breaths and slowly moved upward, gasping at the pleasant sensation mixed with discomfort, before sliding back down. Below her Sasuke gritted his teeth just before he moaned again when she unexpectedly moved. Liking the response, she was getting from the normally composed Uchiha, Sayuri ground her hips against him, and this time both sighed at the increasingly pleasant sensation. Sasuke for his part moved his hand to cup her bottom as he pushed up and followed her slow tempo.

Gasps and moans filled the room, while Sayuri moved slowly above Sasuke. His eyes trailed downwards to her bouncing breasts and sat up, shifting her closer to him. She held on to his shoulders as she continued to move awkwardly, unsure of herself in this new position. He dipped his mouth to the juncture of her neck and shoulder and bit as he shifted her closer, pushing himself into her hard. Sayuri gripped his hair and gasped as he helped her move. Her breaths became shorter, as he picked up the pace thrusting deeper and harder into her, growling into her ear.

She felt something in her build, it tingled and tightened at her core and all she knew was that she wanted more. She moaned and tried to catch her breath as Sasuke switched to a slower pace. The pressure was still there and it was intensifying with each movement, but when she tried to increase their tempo he held her down with a low growl and had her moving slowly.

"Sasuke." She moaned and pressed herself closer to him and he pushed himself deeper into her until she felt a shiver run down her back. She gasped, suddenly finding herself out of breath, her whole body quivered, toes curling, as he kept moving prolonging the sensation, finding his own release in the process. He ground out her name as he finished leaving the two, sweating and gasping for air.

Sayuri leaned against him, arms holding onto him but not with as much strength as before. She pulled back and stared at him, watching him carefully not fully aware of the consequences of her rash actions.

 **A.N.**

 **So that's the end of this chapter. I think this is the longest one I've written so far. I realize now that I made a mistake with Sasuke's eyes and in actuality he CAN deactivate his Rinnegan so I will go back and fix that in my other chapters.**

 **Also, in case I didn't make it quite clear in Gravity -because I realize I tend to be vague sometimes and I truly apologize for it- Sayuri's eyes were dark and light brown in the first two stories, because she was rejecting a part of her chakra (fire, in her case) and suppressing it on purpose. At the end of gravity she began to accept it and was able to open up her full potential for her kekkei genkai. Since she has a natural affinity to two chakra natures at a time, she can change her affinity to two different ones or a single one if she so chooses. Even though she can change her chakra affinity to two different types, she can only preform one style jutsu at a time.**

 **So here's why her eyes went back to being light and dark brown. The marking jutsu they used on Sayuri completely negates and shuts down all of her chakra natures, basically it leaves her with the chakra of a civilian.**

 **Any who, enough about that, I hope you liked this chapter and I hope it met your expectations! Please review and let me know what you thought about it!**

 **Thank you and please review!**


	12. Secret

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Secret

"Are you sure we shouldn't go look for them?" Diachi asked Naruto as he helped Hajime walk. The blonde, himself carrying an injured Sakura.

"No, they're alright. Right now we need to find a place to stay." He mumbled watching Sakura who was too concentrated on healing her injured arm.

Hajime hissed when Diachi shifted his arm so he could hold his weight better. "Who the hell were they?"

"They're probably the same men from Suna." Said Diachi.

"Hey what about there?" Naruto exclaimed gesturing to an empty cabin. Hajime and Diachi blinked.

"I don't know…" Diachi, said uneasily, always the cautious one. "What if it's someone's home."

"If it were someone's they'd take better care of it." The pink haired medic pointed out. The boys once again looked at the old cabin, surrounded by weeds, one of the steps to the porch was broken, and had foliage growing on the walls. "I think that'll do."

"You heard her." Naruto grinned and hurried inside.

Hajime grunted while Diachi hurried them behind the blonde. Once inside, the brunette kicked the door closed and helped Hajime sit down. Behind him Naruto roamed the small cabin, and Sakura tended to her injured leg.

"Where are you going?"

Sakura looked up from her leg to the other two young men. Diachi had his hand on the door and Hajime looked at the brunette in confusion.

"To get some wood…for the chimney."

Both Hajime and Sakura turned to the dirtied chimney, the cold of the room finally setting in, and nodded, the floor whining underneath Diachi's weight.

"It looks like no one's been here in a while." Naruto said as he came around the corner. "There's a bed, but no mattress, or clothes, or anything."

"Maybe they moved into a village?" Sakura offered as explanation just as her the green glow of her hand dissipated. "There's more work there."

"I guess…" Naruto rubbed his chin, and looked at Sakura. "How's the leg?"

"I'll be fine." Naruto knelt down beside her, blonde head bent to get a better look. His hand hovered over her knee and he tilted his head to her.

"Can I?" From her spot, Sakura blushed but nodded nonetheless, and felt his fingers touch her just above her knee. "You sure it'll be fine?" he asked, blue eyes worried at the bruise.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered, and gently swatted his hand away. "I healed it."

"Now if someone could heal me, that would be wonderful." The two turned to Hajime who looked at the two ninja suspiciously. The floor creaked and again, and Diachi walked in, wood in hand.

"That's the idea!" Naruto shot up and rushed to the brunette taking the wood and setting it up. He reached into his pocket and took out a few matches, striking them until the fire finally caught. Slowly the darkened room became illuminated by the orange glow. Diachi helped Hajime move closer to the flame for warmth and began tending to his ribs.

"Ow!" Hajime hissed when Diachi prodded a little too hard. "Will you quit poking and just heal me already!"

"Sorry." Diachi whispered. Taking a deep breath, he hovered his hand over his chest as it began to glow. Soon enough Hajime didn't feel as much pain as he had before, and after a few more seconds all he felt was bit of warm tingling. "That should do it."

The silver haired ANBU raised his arms and moved his torso around, feeling only slightly sore. "Thanks."

Sakura watching all this with careful green eyes, saw Diachi pull away a little too quickly as he sat down and turned back to crackling wood. Naruto hummed on the other side of Sakura as he concentrated on trying to find Sasuke and Sayuri, a small frown marring his features.

"What is it?" Sakura asked and Naruto turned to look down at the rosette.

"Sasuke's had his chakra blocked off." He mumbled. "I can sense them West of us."

"Well if that's the case then we should go over there and get them. God, knows that Sayuri shouldn't be with that man." Hajime spat, eyes glaring at the fire.

Naruto turned to Hajime in shock and anger. "What the hell is your problem!" the blonde growled.

"Naruto…" Sakura called in a soothing tone, placing a hand on her teammates chest to keep him from launching at the silver haired man.

"I've had it with your snide remarks! Sasuke's my friend and he's done nothing to you! So if you've got something to say then say it!"

"Fine." Hajime glared back at Naruto. "Where do you want me to start? The part where because of him Sayuri was suspended from the ANBU? Or the part where he almost killed Sayuri last year!?" Naruto and Sakura were stunned. The two silently blinked at Hajime who only continued to glare. "That's right, your so called best friend-"

"Shut up, Hajime!" Diachi yelled. "That isn't what happened."

"What…what does he mean by he almost killed Sayuri?" asked Sakura who was the first to recover.

Diachi sighed and shook his head. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. He wasn't there."

Naruto turned to Diachi then. "No. But you were." They watched the brunette nod. "What. Happened."

Diachi shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. "It's a mission, what doesn't happen."

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled when the blonde picked the brunette up by his collar.

"Tell us!"

"I can't." Hajime's calm response only managed to agitate Naruto more.

"He's my best friend. If he tried to kill Sayuri then…"

"It wasn't like that." He said slowly. "Put me down."

Naruto pulled back and pocketed his hands. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

The two sat down and the room was filled with an uncomfortable silence.

"That mission was the reason for you quitting the medical corps wasn't it."

Diachi turned to Sakura and nodded. "Yes."

"So whatever happened it was bad enough for you to not want to deal with medicine?"

"…In a way."

"Diachi, just tell them. Stop covering up for the damn Uchiha and say what happened!"

Diachi turned to Hajime and glared. "I'm not covering up for anybody! I promised Sayuri that I wouldn't say anything." He hissed. "And Sayuri was the one who struck first. It was unavoidable."

"Wait…I'm confused. I thought Sasuke almost killed Sayuri?" Naruto asked turning his attention Diachi once again.

"He didn't almost kill her." Diachi sighed. "Hajime, what you heard was a rumor."

"Then explain why she had a wound from the chidori!" the silver haired hothead demanded. "That wasn't an accident."

"Please…Diachi." Sakura pleaded. "Tell us what happened."

Diachi hesitated, running a hand through his brown hair, light brown eyes squeezing shut. He had promised Sayuri to keep his mouth shut. But so far all it had done was cause resentment between her and Hajime, and now Hajime had the wrong idea. He bit his lip, light brown eyes shifting from one ninja to the next. _I'm sorry Sayuri, but they're your friends too._

"We were sent on a mission with another team. Our orders were to get a man that had been stealing money from rich noblemen and leaving them dead." At Naruto's taken aback look he almost laughed. "Just because you saved the world from war, it doesn't mean that others feel the same way. There are still people who are greedy, there are still people who thirst for some sort of power. In any case, he managed to get away with the murders for a while, no one knew how they died, but we got a lead. When we received intel of his location Sasuke was passing by the town on his way back to Konoha. When he found out about the mission, he said he wanted to help…"

" **Are you sure?" Sayuri asked, sipping her tea. "You won't get paid."**

 **Sasuke's black eyes met her mismatched red and blue. "I'm sure. It's been a while since I had an actual mission."**

" **You'd get one, if you actually stayed for longer than a few weeks." Said Sayuri, waving the stick of dango at him. "Have you thought of, I don't know…" she tapped a finger to her chin playfully. "…Staying permanently?"**

 **Sasuke smirked. "Miss me?"**

 **The auburn haired girl scoffed. "In your dreams!" Quickly biting into her dango, in an attempt to hide the rising heat to her face.**

 **For a second Diachi thought he saw a flicker of a smirk, but if he did Sasuke did a good job of hiding it as he turned to him. "Do you have a picture of him?" Sasuke asked him, nodding he slid it across the table. Sasuke slid it back to the brunette when he was done. "You have a lead?"**

 **Diachi turned to Sayuri who kept eating her dango and sighed. He couldn't really complain it was the first time in a while that he saw the tension on her shoulders dissipate, and actually enjoying her food. "Yes."**

" **Good. This will be quick then." Said the Uchiha, casting a glance at Sayuri.**

" **Why? Do you have something important to do back home?" asked Sayuri with a raised brow and a playful smile.**

" **Hn."**

" **That isn't an answer, Uchiha." Sayuri sighed. "And here I thought, you knew how to use your words now." At Sasuke's glare, Sayuri took a sip of her drink. "We should get going." Sayuri said, placing enough money on the table for all of their food and drinks. The two men turned to her and she smiled, tapping her earlobe, gesturing to the earpiece. "Time to meet up."**

"The other team was tasked with following up on the lead, we were tasked with scouting the area. To get acquainted with the ins and out of the town." Diachi leaned forward, closer to the fire. "In hindsight we should have taken care of the lead. Sayuri has been acting skittish since the war, and it showed when we were scouting, but neither one of us were heading the mission so we didn't have much of a choice other than to follow orders."

 **A loud crash made the trio tense up. Night had fallen in the town and civilians ran out of a small bar just as a body was thrown out of the window.**

" **Move!" Sayuri ordered as they ran to the scene, where a man rushed out and began attacking the man on the ground. Sayuri and Diachi immediately recognized him as one of their second medic. He shoved himself away and caught the man's foot just before it hit his head.**

" **He's getting away!" He nodded past the crowd. "The Captain and Kitoki are tailing him! Go!"**

 **The three followed orders and took to the roofs. Further ahead they saw the other two men looking around them frantically.**

" **What happened?" Sayuri asked as she landed on a rooftop just above them.**

" **We don't know where he went!" Their Captain answered, running a hand through his green hair.**

" **Shit." Sayuri cursed and looked around her. Frowning she leapt off the roof and onto the ground. She placed her hand on the dirt road, eyes flashing dark and light green. Behind her the others waited quietly, Sasuke being the only one to catch her back tense. "I think he went into the woods."**

" **You think?" Kitoki mocked, brown eyes narrowed. "We're not going to run into the woods, on just a hunch. He could still be in the village."**

" **Yes, I** think **." She snapped, standing up and meeting the man's glare. "I don't know his actual chakra signature, if I did I'd be sure, and if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be having to do this. There is only one person moving away from this town and they're** in **the woods. So yes, I** think **it's him."**

" **Then we should head after him." Diachi said.**

 **When the two men looked at each other Sasuke went to stand next to Sayuri. "If you two aren't so sure then stay here and search the village, we'll search the woods." Then turning to Sayuri. "Lead the way." Sayuri took a deep breath and ran off, Sasuke closely behind.**

" **Hey!" Their captain called just before Diachi followed. "If anything goes wrong, you know what to do."**

 **Diachi nodded. "Yes, sir!"**

 **Sasuke kept his eyes on Sayuri as she leapt from one branch to the next. Diachi fell slightly behind but he was close enough. The two men watched Sayuri reach into her pouch producing six glinting shuriken.**

" **Diachi."**

" **I know." He replied falling further behind the two ninja in front of him. Watching her throw the shuriken at the man running below effectively stopping him in his tracks. The next thing she threw was a kunai bomb, but the man jumped out of the way quickly enough to avoid getting hit.**

" **Is that all you've got!?" the man mocked from below and suddenly he found himself thrown against a tree. Daichi stopped, high above the fight just as Sayuri walked towards the man.**

" **Who the hell are you?" he spat as he stood up, taking out a kunai.**

" **Ren Tsutsuki, you are wanted for the murders of six noblemen belonging to the Land of Fire. I am here to take you back to Konoha."**

" **What makes you think I did it, little girl?"**

" **We've got eye witnesses." She placed a hand on her hip, mismatched eyes narrowed. "You got sloppy."**

" **Oh." Ren twirled the kunai in his hand. "And I don't suppose you came alone."**

" **Come willingly or I'll make you." She replied ignoring him.**

 **Ren laughed. "It won't be that easy brat!" he rushed at her swiping his kunai right and left, while she jumped back and moved from one side to the next avoiding a hit. When he shifted his position to kick she caught his foot, eyes turning a dark and light yellow color as electricity poured out of her hand shocking him as she shoved him away. Ren stumbled back and leaned against a tree, black eyes wide. "Why you-" he gasped as the vines slammed him back against the tree preventing him from moving.**

" **If I were you, I'd go along quietly." Sasuke said, having watched enough as he emerged from the shadows.**

 **Ren's eyes shifted to Sasuke and he laughed. "Well if it isn't the last Uchiha."**

 **Sasuke's right eye bled Sharingan red. "I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you."**

" **But of course…Uchiha." Suddenly the trees on their left and right exploded sending the two back in an attempt to get away. Sayuri landed on her side while Sasuke landed on his feet to her left.**

" **Sayuri!" he called when he saw the man run to the Marihasha on the ground.**

" **Ah, ah, ah." He chided, hand on her forehead just as she summoned her katana. "None of that." He ordered and pulled away watching the girl on the ground tremble. His sight of her was cut short as he was kicked back and away from her.**

" **Sayuri-" Sasuke turned to her only to see her still in the same position she was in just a few seconds ago.**

" **Watch out!" He heard Diachi yell just as Sayuri swung the katana his way. Further away, Ren sat up, one hand holding his ribs and the other pointed at her, chakra strings emitting from his fingers.**

" **Let's see how long you can last against her." He laughed making Sayuri slash at Sasuke as fast as she could.**

" **Leave her alone!" Diachi yelled as he leapt down towards the man but was kicked out of the way by Sayuri who stood defensively in front of the man.**

" **Ever wonder how I got those idiots to let me in? To let me get close enough to kill them without even leaving a trail? No? Well know you know." Ren laughed. "All I have to do is get close to them to touch them, then they're my puppets." Sayuri pointed her katana at the Diachi. "They can only do and say what I want them to do and say. And you want to know the best part?" He smirked. "They're completely aware of what they're doing!"**

 **Sayuri jumped into the air, katana pointed downward and at Diachi who rolled out of the way.**

" **They're stuck in their heads." He laughed as Sayuri punched Diachi in the abdomen, then sending him flying into a nearby tree with a kick. "Watching every little thing."**

 **She then turned to Sasuke whose chidori chirped, as he rushed towards the man, but before he could reach Ren, Sayuri stood in front of him forcing to him to divert his attack and scratching her arm. His black eyes met hers when she ran the katana up through his abdomen, the bloody metal coming out the other side.**

 **Sasuke spat out blood and held on to her shoulder for support. Sayuri pulled the katana out, hand trembling at her side, while her eyes only widened in horror. Sasuke's gaze slid to the man behind them who stood up and threw a paper bomb wrapped around a kunai on the ground just behind Sayuri. Sasuke using the little bit of strength he had left pulled Sayuri back, and covered her from most of the impact.**

" **Earth Style: Dragon Blast!" Diachi yelled causing a mud dragon to form before him, its jaw open as a mud ball was aimed at Ren who was hit and slammed into the ground.**

" **Sasuke…" he heard Sayuri call. "SASUKE!" He rushed to the girl as she pushed Sasuke onto his back. His dark shirt moist from the blood and she tried to get the bleeding under control. "Diachi do something!" she cried and the ANBU shoved her hands away as he took over the healing, but there was too much blood. There was too much damage to heal at once…He felt himself falter. Sayuri reached for Sasuke's neck to check his pulse and gasped. "DIACHI!"**

" **I…I…" Diachi cursed under his breath. There was too much damage, and the bleeding. There was too much blood. "Help me!" He ordered and she obediently put her hands back to their spot concentrating her chakra as best she could to heal the man below them. But each time the bleeding stopped for a few minutes and then started all over again. Behind him he heard Ren groan, he looked over his shoulder, his chakra faltering when he saw Ren getting ready to run. "Sayuri!"**

 **She lifted her head, eyes flashing green when a root shot up from the ground, piercing the man through the chest, it wasn't too long after that he slumped forward, unmoving. Wide eyed, the young man turned back to Sayuri whose eyes were dangerously narrowed, sliding his eyes slowly down her trembling hand on the cool grass.**

" **Sayuri…" He whispered. At the sound of her name she snapped back to him, reached around Diachi to his pouch and pulling out a flair, igniting it and letting it light up the sky in a bright red color.**

" **Sayuri, the mission was-"**

" **I know!" she snapped then turned back to Sasuke and after a brief pause added. "Please, concentrate on him."**

" **I…" he watched her with careful eyes, as she hovered her hands over Sasuke's chest alongside his. "I healed some of the main internal injuries…but if we can't stop the bleeding…" Diachi trailed off, looking at his hands covered in the red substance.**

 **Sayuri looked at Sasuke whose skin was slowly losing its color. "Please…not you too. Please don't die…" she chanted, all the while his fingers trembled as the Uchiha continued to bleed out.**

" **What the-!"**

" **Please help him!" Sayuri yelled. Quickly, the man that was thrown out of the bar rushed forward and pushed Sayuri out of the way as he worked quickly with Diachi to stop the bleeding, repair the damaged veins, and seal of the wound. It took them a few more minutes, but the man knew what he was doing. He had to, in order to be Diachi's senior. Soon the bleeding came to a halt, Sasuke's breathing evened out, but he was still pale.**

" **You can stop." Diachi heard the man say, pulling Diachi's chakra emitting hands off of Sasuke's body. "You can stop." He repeated slowly this time watching as the brunette fell back and watched his trembling hands. Light brown eyes widened at the sight, he looked down at the grass saw the small puddle and gulped.**

" **What happened?" their captain asked gesturing to the dead man on the ground not too far from them.**

" **I'm did it. It was my mistake." Sayuri pushed herself up, head bowed.**

" **Do you realize that this means the mission is a failure?"**

" **I will take full responsibility."**

 **Their captain pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing shut. "Damn it."**

" **We need to get Sasuke to the town's hospital." The other medic interrupted "He lost a lot of blood. They'll be able to stabilize him there."**

"When we got to the hospital the staff freaked. The captain left to go inform the Hokage of what happened. Sayuri signed a statement claiming full responsibility for Ren's death and by consequence the mission failure. Sasuke couldn't be moved from the hospital until he fully recuperated so Sayuri and I stayed behind."

 **Diachi washed his hands for the thousandth time but he could still see the blood. Taking a deep breath, he headed back to Sasuke's room and paused at the door hearing the doctor speak to Sayuri from inside.**

" **He's stable now. He should be waking up soon." He heard the doctor say. "We're just going to finish taking his vitals and keep making him comfortable until he does."**

" **Thank you." Sayuri mumbled. "Excuse me." Diachi stepped back as the door opened. Sayuri closed it and leaned against it, head bent and shoulders shaking. For the first time during the entire mission, Diachi saw Sayuri cry.**

" **Go to the restroom." Diachi said causing her to pause. She had been too caught up that she failed to notice him there. "It'll give you more privacy."**

 **Biting her lip, she nodded, and wiped her cheeks to regain some sense of composure before doing as he suggested. She paused mid step and turned back to him. "Please, take care of him for me."**

"That's what happened." Diachi sighed. "None of it was his fault. It wasn't her fault either. He was trying to protect her. That wound you saw, Hajime, was nothing compared to what he let her do to him."

Hajime frowned and looked away. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"Now that I think about it…" Naruto frowned. "When Sasuke came back to the village he was acting weird. He was on edge and trying to get a hold of Sayuri."

Diachi nodded. "After she returned from the restroom, I left them alone. I don't know what happened, but after that she had me stay with him, and was distant until we got back to Konoha."

"That was when she got temporarily suspended from ANBU by Moriyo-sensei." Hajime mumbled.

"Why suspended though?" Sakura asked.

"In Moriyo-sensei's point of view she couldn't complete a simple B rank mission successfully, then why keep her active in the ANBU where they deal with A and S rank missions. The mission was to capture Ren and bring him back to Konoha for trial, not to kill him, and Sayuri failed. Moriyo-sensei thought, that Sayuri needed extra training, so she had her suspended."

Both Naruto and Sakura looked at the two men in disbelief. They began to think back to a year ago, recalling how Sayuri was always busy, sometimes looking worse for ware, other times she seemed absent. That was also the longest they had seen Sasuke stay in the village.

Sakura tapped her finger on the wooden floor. Sasuke had been looking for Sayuri the afternoon she asked him to go out with her. He rejected her on the spot, but later that evening when they ran into each other again, he asked her to go out with him. At the time she hadn't really cared for what had changed his mind. She was just happy that he was finally seeing her as a partner, but now that she thinks about it during the time that they dated he had let her do what she wanted. He was courteous, yes, but nothing beyond that. He didn't hold her hand, or show much affection towards her other than the occasional smile. While that time period helped her realize that he wasn't the one for her, she is now coming to the understanding that he had his mind on Sayuri the entire time. Even though he tried hard to keep her happy by bending to her will: going out on public dates, and buying things together, it was always Sayuri.

Sakura felt a small pang of jealousy. Sure, she now realized that what she felt for Sasuke was childish infatuation, but you couldn't blame her for feeling betrayed. She had tried for so many years to get him to look at her as more than a friend and comrade, but it never really happened. To him she was always Sakura, a reliable source of information, but that was it.

How was it that Sayuri always managed to get Sasuke's attention when it seemed like the girl could care less about him? No. That wasn't true. Sakura looked down to the floor. Sayuri did care about Sasuke, she had seen it in the way that she reminded him to eat, or the way she teased him when he visited the village. She had seen it in the way that Sayuri would noticeably, light up during Sasuke's visits, and in the way she would see him off.

It should have really tipped Sakura off, when all of their interactions came to a sudden halt last year but she had ignored it. Caught in the bliss of finally being with the man she thought she loved.

A warm hand fell on hers, stopping her fingers mid tap. Green orbs shifted to meet blue, just as Naruto gave her hand a firm squeeze before pulling away and she found herself missing the warmth of his hand on hers. Sakura turned back to the fire place, pulling her legs to her chest avoiding Naruto's gaze. She knew that he knew what she was thinking. He always knew, even when he pretended to be dense.

"We should get some sleep. We've got to go look for them tomorrow." Naruto said as he pulled his and Sakura's pack closer to them to use as makeshift pillows.

"Right." Hajime said as he folded his hands behind his head and laid back. Diachi pulled his bag closer to the chimney and sat facing the door.

"I'll keep watch in case someone tries something."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked a bit worried for the brunette. He watched Diachi's head jerk in a small nod and left it at that. "Alright." He said eyes flickering over to Sakura's back then to the window. _I'm sorry Sakura._ He thought as he laid on his side.

 **A.N.**

 **Here it is! Sorry for the delay, I'm back in school and have a lot of work to do. I hope you liked this chapter, please let me know what you think of it. Next time we'll be back to Sasuke and Sayuri! Thank you all for all of your wonderful reviews please keep at it. It helps keep me motivated to know that you guys like how the story is going so far.**

 **Thank you again and please review!**


	13. Uncertain

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Uncertain

The absence of warmth was the first thing he felt, followed by the blinding sensation of light. Sasuke groaned, eyes squinting open. Sitting up he felt the sheets fall to his lap and found himself naked.

" **Just this once…"**

Sasuke went rigid, recalling the events of the night before and looked around him only to find no trace of Sayuri. Frowning he picked up his clothes, still a little damp, and got dressed. Just as he pulled his shirt over his head, he heard the light padding of footsteps outside his door. Pulling the door open, he found Sayuri pulling her boots on, casting a glance his way then turning back to her task.

"Sayuri-"

"We need to get moving and meet up with the others."

He narrowed his black orbs at her. "So we're not going to talk about what happened last night?" He watched her zip up her other boot, not answering his question. "Are you just going to ignore me now?"

Sayuri inhaled slowly and pushed herself up. "Let's just go." She turned but found herself pushed up against the wall. Eyes trailed from his hand on her shoulder, up the length of his arm, up his neck to his eyes.

"What is it? What I do wrong this time!?"

Sayuri bit the inside of her cheek at the pang of guilt that she felt in her chest. "Let me go." She said eyes flickering to his arm then back to his eyes.

"No." He growled. "I know you feel something for me. You showed me that last night and-"

"Last night was just a onetime thing, Sasuke." She watched his eyes widen at her exclamation, knowing that her words had hurt his feeling but she couldn't stop. "I don't even know what the hell I was thinking! You're with Sakura, damn it! Neither one of us should have done any of it."

"Sayuri I'm not-"

"Stop. What happened last night was a lapse of judgment." She felt his fingers on her shoulder loosen and she averted her gaze, fixing her eyes on the wooden floor.

"Last night was a lapse of judgement." He repeated slowly, his voice hard. She closed her eyes and nodded, pressing a hand against his chest to push him away. It didn't take much force on her part as he recoiled from her as if her touch burned. He balled his hands into fists when she turned away from him to pick up her pouch. "We'll leave in five minutes." He said and went to the room they had slept in, slamming the door shut behind him.

Sayuri gripped the pouch at the sound. Closing her eyes, she breathed slowly trying to calm herself. _It's for the best._ She told herself as she adjusted her vest, laying a hand on her chest just above her heart. _It's better this way._

The door opened once more, Sasuke emerged, hard look in his eyes when he brushed past her and exited the cabin without bothering to wait for her. Sayuri pulled her cloak on and followed keeping her distance from the angered Uchiha.

XXX

Naruto's group had been walking for an hour when the blonde stopped suddenly. The other three came to halt just behind him, the cold breeze sawing the branches bellow them.

"Naruto?" Sakura's green eyes stared at the blonde's back curiously.

"It's them." He replied and began his descend down the branches. By the time their feet hit the ground Sasuke came into view on his hike up to the main road. Naruto was about to wave at them but stopped short, hand half way up when Sasuke caught sight of him. Hard black eyes met his own blue, his jaw was clenched, and his shoulders stiff. Cerulean eyes looked behind the Uchiha, to the head of auburn hair that was emerging from the distance. Sayuri walked closer and stopped, noticing the others and offered a weak smile.

"Sayuri!" Diachi was the first to react, running past the Uchiha and to the young woman who endured his prodding as he examined her. "What happened to your eyes?!"

"Her chakra's been sealed." Sasuke said, not bothering to turn to them. Across from him, Hajime stuffed his arms into his pockets and walked over the Marihasha, casting a glance at Sasuke on his way.

Sakura frowned at Sasuke's tone and turned to Sayuri who averted her gaze from the rosette. "Sayuri, are you feeling well?" She asked as she approached the auburn haired ninja. "Can I take a look?"

Sayuri visibly stiffened but nodded slowly. "Yeah…sure." She responded, eyes shifting to the dirt road.

With a raised brow, Sakura placed a glowing hand on Sayuri's abdomen, green eyes narrowing at what she found. She glanced back at Sayuri who's eyes drifted from one part of the woods to the other, but that wasn't what caught her attention. Instead it was the slight labored breathing and the small beads of sweat on her forehead. "Sayuri…" she began but stopped at the girls pleading gaze.

"I'm alright." Sayuri said, stepping back and away from Sakura's healing chakra. "I promise." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

"What is it?" Hajime asked.

"We won't be able to keep a good pace with her in this condition." Diachi replied, having picked up on what Sakura had in mind.

"My chakra's just sealed, I can handle it." Sayuri defended herself.

"No, you can't." Sakura scolded. "Your chakra is at the level of that of a civilian. I bet you can't even climb a tree."

"WHAT!?" Naruto exclaimed, turning his attention to his best friend. "Why didn't you help her, bastard!?" at Sasuke's huff and burning glare, Naruto scowled at him, and walked up to stand before Sayuri. "I guess we'll have to carry you then."

Hajime snorted. "Hear that, Princess?"

"Sakura…" Sayuri began but the rosette held up a hand effectively cutting her off.

"No. I'm the medic here and what I say goes. You're going to be carried and that's that." She turned to the men of the group. "Who wants to volunteer?" Behind her Diachi, and Naruto felt a cold chill run down their backs when Sasuke turned to look at them.

"I'm up for it." Hajime said with a roll of his shoulders, moving over to stand in front of her. Crouching slightly so she could climb onto his back. Sayuri took a step back, clearly not liking the idea. "C'mon, I don't have all day."

"I…"

"The faster you get on, the faster we get to Konoha and have Lady Tsunade take a look at you." Sakura added.

"Go on." Diachi pushed her forward.

XXX

"Hang tight." Hajime instructed as he quickly descended behind Team Seven. Sayuri hesitantly gripped his shoulders tighter, watching the sun slowly set, casting shadows on the trees and providing the forest with an orange glow.

She looked at her fingers and mentally scolded herself for forgetting her gloves, curling them into the fabric of Hajime's coat to maintain some form of warmth. Her hair flew up as the air rushed up her body when he made the final descend, jolting her upwards slightly when they landed.

"We're finally back!" Naruto exclaimed, stretching his arms high above his head.

"Let me guess you want Ichiraku's." Sakura teased the blonde who shrugged.

"It's the best place in the village!" he exclaimed in defense of his favorite dining spot.

"You need to eat something other than ramen, Naruto."

"But it's sooo good!"

Sasuke's black orbs slid from the two energetic ninja to the ANBU team behind them. "She can walk, you know."

Hajime looked up in surprise. Looking over his shoulder he watched Sayuri wince at the cold tone. Frowning he was about to open his mouth when Sayuri patted his shoulder.

"It's fine, I can take it from here." She whispered.

"You sure?"

"It's my chakra that's sealed, not my legs."

Sayuri stepped back once her feet touched the paved road. "We'll need to report to Moriyo."

"We can do that." Diachi said. "You go get checked out first. When you're done go back to headquarters and report then."

"C'mon." Sayuri turned to Sakura in surprise when she pulled her arm, forcing her to walk behind her. "I'm sure the boys got it from here."

Sayuri cast one last look at her team before following the medic. When they arrived the hospital doors swung open upon sensing their footsteps. The waiting room wasn't full, but it wasn't empty either.

"Looks like we came on a good day." Sakura said to herself and approached the desk. "Excuse me," the nurse who had been charting almost jumped out of her chair.

"Ah! Miss Sakura! What brings you here today?" she asked straightening her uniform.

"We need to see Lady Tsunade, is she in?"

"Lady Tsunade? Yes, she is but at this hour…" the nurse leaned in cupping her mouth. "…She's not really in a good state to see anyone…If you know what I mean." She pointed to the clock on the wall with her other hand. The two young women tilted their head upwards to read the time, 5:15. Sakura sweat dropped and Sayuri shook her head with a sigh.

"We'll see her anyway."

At Sakura's reply, Sayuri recoiled. "WHAT?!" she demanded looking at the medic as if she had lost her mind.

"Oh come on, Sayuri. It'll be fine."

"I'm more afraid of what she'll do when we get there! She's not exactly a happy drunk—Ah!" She looked back to the nurse who waved at them with a nervous smile.

"Good luck!" she said.

XXX

"So this mission was also a failure." Kakashi sighed, lacing his fingers together. Naruto and Sasuke stood across Kakashi.

"Well not completely, Sayuri managed to get this." Naruto said pulling out a copy of the writing she had showed Gaara in Suna. With a raised brow he took the sheet of paper from the blonde. Eyes scanning its contents. "Gaara couldn't make sense of it, so I don't know if you'll be able to."

"Hm…" Kakashi placed the paper on his desk. "Well I can't but I'll send it to analysis maybe they can figure it out. In any case the mission was still a failure."

"But we got _something_!" Naruto exclaimed.

"And in order to get this..." Kakashi's finger hit the paper with an audible tap. "One of your teammates had to be put in danger, resulting in her currently sealed chakra, and ending with her being taken off duty."

Naruto winced. "Well…when you put it that way..."

"Sayuri and I were team captains, we'll take the responsibility." Interrupted the Uchiha, who until now had been, for the most part, apathetic.

"Yes…You and Sayuri have been doing a lot of that lately."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at his former teacher. "What is that supposed to mean."

"I mean that I'm starting to believe Moriyo was right. Maybe the two of you shouldn't work together at all."

Sasuke's fist clenched at his side as he glared at Kakashi for a good three seconds. Kakashi on the other hand watched Sasuke carefully, a bit surprised when the Uchiha let his hand relax.

"Maybe your right." He replied coldly.

"Sasuke!" the blonde Uzumaki called after his best friend as the Uchiha slammed the door close behind him. "What the hell, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto snapped at his teacher.

"It's an observation."

XXX

"I'm honestly surprised this didn't kill you." Tsunade said as she pulled away from Sayuri.

"That makes two of us." Sayuri replied.

The busty woman turned to her pupil who held a cup of coffee in her hand. Taking it, she moved to sit back at her desk. "You were right, Sakura." At that the pink haired medic rubbed her chin in thought.

"I was worried about that."

"What were you right about?" Sayuri asked turning to Sakura who seemed zoned out at the moment. "Lady Tsunade?"

The blonde took a sip of her coffee and sighed. "Whatever they did to your chakra is sealed up so well, that I'm not sure if I can even reverse it."

"What!?"

"And even if I did, the process of the sealing was forceful enough that it burned your chakra pathways. Reversing it could prove to be just a fatal as it was sealing it. Then there's also the problem with your entire organ system. Chakra was ripped away from them at too quick a rate that it's literally a miracle that this didn't kill you."

"You can fix this though…right?" Sayuri pleaded shifting her eyes from one medic to the other. Sayuri could practically see Sakura running through scenarios in her mind, while Tsunade bit her lip honey eyes on her coffee. "Right!?"

"There has to be a way." Sakura finally replied. "Naruto had the copy of the seals that you wrote down in Suna, I'm sure that Kakashi-sensei will have it looked at. When they find out what kind of sealing jutsu they used, we could get a better idea of what we're dealing with."

Sayuri ran a hand through her bangs in frustration. "This is a nightmare."

"For right now, we'll have to keep a close watch on you. We'll see how your organs, primarily your heart and lungs are reacting to this and see if there's any healing in your pathways." Tsunade instructed. "Naturally, you'll be pulled off duty until this is resolved."

"If it's not…I'd have to quit being a ninja, correct?" At Tsunade's lack of response, Sayuri bit the inside of her cheek.

"We'll find a way" Sakura assured her placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. An action that made Sayuri recoil.

Sayuri walked out of the hospital, leaving the two medics to discuss options. Sayuri just couldn't stand sitting in there for another minute. Her career was in their hands. Being a ninja was all she knew how to do. It was all she ever wanted to do.

XXX

 _Her hair's not the right shade…_ the thought managed to break through the haziness of his mental state. He had been in the same bar for an hour now and this was his second bottle of sake. He picked up his cup of alcohol and took another sip. The girl in the other booth kept sending him flirty winks and smiles _She's about the same build…_ was his next thought.

"Sasuke!" The sound of his best friends' voice made him wince. He looked up just in time to see the blonde haired ninja stand in front of him, blocking his view of the brunette on the other side. "What the hell are you doing in a place like this?" asked Naruto as he slid into the booth.

"Leave." He mumbled finishing off the sake and pouring himself more.

Bright blue eyes watched the man across from him carefully. "What's the matter?" Sasuke didn't respond instead he shifted his black eyes back to the brunette, who sent him a playful wave.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" Naruto yelled, reaching across the table to grab Sasuke by the collar. "You're with Sakura, you bastard!"

Sasuke swatted his hands away and sat back down. "No, I'm not." At Naruto's confused look he sighed. "She broke up with me…in Suna."

 _Wait what…?_ Naruto sat back stunned. "Huh?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "We're not dating anymore, idiot." He looked back at his friend whose smile was slowly growing until it stopped. Blue eyes focused back on him.

"So then…" Naruto started, brows furrowed back in confusion. He turned to look at the woman on the other side of the bar. _She looks a little like…_ His head turned back to Sasuke. "What happened with Sayuri?"

"I'm not in the mood, Naruto." The man finished off the liquid in the small cup.

"But, Sasuke…"

"What do you want me to tell you?" Naruto blinked at his best friends slightly drunken state. "That we slept together?" he poured himself more sake as Naruto's own cheeks reddened then after a second of consideration downed that cup too. "How about, how she acted like nothing happened the following morning?" he laughed sarcastically. "Or, when she told me it was a lapse of judgment? Take your damn pick." He picked up the sake bottle and rattled it around for a bit. "It's empty."

Waving the waitress over he asked for another while Naruto sat across Sasuke, trying to decide whether or not to let him continue.

"Look, Sasuke-"

"Hi, cutie." A sultry voice made him turn to the brunette woman standing in front of their booth. She placed a hand on their table and leaned into Sasuke. "How are you?"

Sasuke's black eyes went from her hair, that was too straight, and the wrong color, to her eyes that were bright silver. _She's not a ninja._ He noted after taking one look at her hands. Black eyes going back to the woman's face. _In a dim light she can pass off as her._ His eyes began wondering down the womans body, knowing that this is something he wouldn't normally do, but he was inebriated and he was frustrated.

"Sasuke." Naruto called again, mouth set into a frown.

"Oh! You're Naruto Uzumaki." The girl beamed. "I have a friend that would absolutely _love_ to meet you."

"Uh, thanks but I'm good, and so is he." He waved the waitress over paying for the bill. "C'mon, bastard let's get you home."

"Who says I want to go home, idiot."

"Sasuke, look at yourself! You're drunk…" he cast another look at the pouting woman. "And clearly not in the right state of mind." Naruto pulled at Sasuke's arm, swung it over his shoulder to keep the Uchiha from stumbling. "Let's go."

Sasuke pulled away as soon as they were out in the street. He staggered a bit, but managed to regain his balance. "You should have just left me there. I was perfectly fine."

"No, you weren't and I know that if I had just let you do whatever you wanted you would have regretted it in the morning. Now come on bastard, let's get you home." He tugged at his friend's arm and led him through the streets of Konoha. "Have you even drank before today?" Naruto stepped back, avoiding a blow to the head.

"I didn't live under a rock while I was away, dumbass." Naruto grinned but it quickly fell at Sasuke's far off look. "You're pretty messed up over this, huh…"

They arrived to the apartment building and slowly climbed up the stairs, Naruto occasionally holding Sasuke steady by the forearm. "…I would have stayed." Naruto turned to Sasuke as he opened the door to his apartment. "I would have stayed if she had said yes."

"Sasuke…?" Naruto started in concern.

"Go to bed, idiot." Was all he heard in reply as the Uchiha closed the door behind him.

 **A.N.**

 **I'm back! Sorry! I have school and things are getting a bit hectic so I may not update regularly, but I will update as soon as possible. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm looking forward to your reviews! Thank you for your support! Until next time :)**


	14. Lamentations

**A.N.**

 **To those of you that are reading this please not that there are two stories before this one. They are called** _Slowly Slipping Away_ __ **and** _Gravity_ **both are found on my profile. The other two stories followed the manga as closely as I possibly could, but this part of the series is completely original and takes place 4 years after the war.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Lamentations

" **Hey..." He mumbled, coming out of his sleep and offering a tired smile at the young woman on the chair.**

" **Sasuke!" she moved to stand but faltered and he saw it. She was fiddling with the hem of her vest, eyebrows dipped, mismatched eyes on the bed and not on him.**

 **The room was dark, save for the moonlight that shined through the window. A leafless tree branch tapped the glass when the breeze blew by. Becoming aware of where he was, Sasuke finally noticed the IV attached to his arm, and the monitor next to him.**

" **You must have really hurt me if I ended up here." He spoke again, offering a tired smirk. He watched her shoulders tense up. She bit her lip and balled her fists on her lap, she mumbled something that was lost to him by the hum of the heater turning on. "Sayuri?"**

" **You shouldn't have done it." She said a bit louder this time around. "You didn't have to."**

 **Slightly taken aback, Sasuke began to push himself up but the stabbing pain of his sore body stopped him before he could get far. Sayuri quickly moved to help him lay down as gently as possible when she did she reached over to the counter next to his bed and picked up a small container. He watched her as she carefully opened it, shaking two pills out into her palm and clicking it close.**

" **Here." Voice just above a whisper, helping his head up a bit and letting the pills fall into his mouth. He swallowed obediently, just as she moved again, this time to get him a glass of water. "The doctor said you'd be sore for a few days. She prescribed you these until you feel better."**

 **When she pulled away, he reached out for her arm. Fingers wrapping around her wrist. "Did he get away?"**

" **No." she still wouldn't look at him. "I got him."**

 **Black eyes narrowed at the young woman. "What happened?" She finally looked him in the eye.**

" **I don't want you to get in the way like that again."**

The loud pounding on the door echoed throughout scarcely decorated room. Groaning he turned his back to the door and tried to go back to sleep when the pounding stopped. Just as he was about to slip away the pounding returned this time accompanied by a familiar voice.

"SASUKE!"

"Naruto…" the Uchiha growled and sat up, immediately regretting last night's decisions. Then again, he'd been making bad decisions two weeks in a row. Stumbling out of bed, in a manner that if his family had been alive they'd be embarrassed for him he wrenched the door open. "What the hell do you want?"

"Here." The blonde offered canned coffee to the hungover Uchiha and pushed past him into his apartment. "You know when I said let's have fun, I didn't really mean let's drink all night." The blonde grumbled as he rubbed his temple, taking a seat at the small round table. "It's cool and all that you're finally loosening up, but we should stop a least for a few days…or years…" he mumbled the last few words as he took a sip of his drink.

"I didn't invite you to drink yesterday…actually, I didn't invite any of the others to join me either." Said Sasuke, as he looked into his fridge for something to eat.

"Oh c'mon! We all had fun!"

"Naruto…"

"Well, I wasn't about to let you mope by yourself, especially with all the girls that are now starting to gather at the bar."

"They're not just there for me, idiot." At the blonde's confused look Sasuke sighed. "Dumb ass."

"Hey!"

XXX

"Wait…what?" was all the masked ANBU on the other side of the room could say at the end of Moriyo's report. Then ninja gradually began to whisper to each other until the entire room was filled with conversations on the topic at hand.

"Enough." Her loud voice was quick to quiet the room down.

Sayuri balled her hands in her lap, beside her Diachi and Hajime sat ramrod straight. Someone was targeting ANBU ninja and something told them that it was connected to Naoki and whoever the hell he worked for.

"But…Shiro and Izumi…" Diachi whispered in disbelief. He had seen the two before they went on their missions. "They were the best…"

Moriyo sighed, closing her eyes. "I know. The Hokage and I have decided that we are no longer going to send you on individual missions. From now on, everyone is required to be in groups of four. This means that we will also have to be taking fewer missions. It's as a precaution, we want to keep you alive for as long as possible. These cases are no longer sporadic and we are not the only ones being targeted. Special Ops teams from the other four countries are also being targeted and have adopted similar measures. That's it. Go back to your duties, if you are requested for a mission we will contact you."

They all left the meeting room in a quiet murmur. Sayuri watched them all file out until she and Moriyo were the only ones left. The woman with the bright orange eyes rubbed her temples, a small frown on her face.

"What is it?"

"Is it them?" Moriyo peeked up at Sayuri who stood stiff across her former teacher's desk. "Is it Naoki?"

"We don't know." The ANBU head ran a hand through her black hair and sat back in her chair. "There are no other patterns of killing besides the fact that those who are dead are special operations ninja."

"How long has this been going on for?"

Moriyo shrugged. "It's been sporadic, but recently more of them have gone missing. Enough for us to begin to notice. Whoever is doing this has gotten sloppy."

Sayuri's eyebrows dipped in worry. "You said we're not the only ones, that the other villages are having the same problem. So whoever it is, has to be working in groups…Why are we just now being told about this?!"

"Because before we weren't aware that the other villages were having the same problem. If we had known that these attacks weren't just coincidence, we would have said something." Moriyo replied, her tone defensive. For the first time, Sayuri took a good look at her former instructor. She was stressed, her sharp orange eyes weary.

"I'm sorry, I was out of line," Sayuri mumbled. "I'll get back to work." Bowing, she turned on her heel and headed for the exit.

"What has Tsunade said?" Moriyo asked just as her hand touched the door knob.

Sayuri's shoulders slumped forward, her head slightly bowed. "She doesn't see much progress."

"You know that's not your only option." Confused Sayuri looked over her shoulder to her boss who blinked back at Sayuri with a tired smile.

She waited for Moriyo to continue but grew impatient as her boss remained silent. "What are you talking about?!" she blurted and quickly covered her mouth, recalling who it was she was talking to.

Moriyo shook her head. "You'll figure it out." The woman replied going back to the documents on her desk. "I can't give you all the answers. You're a big girl." And with a flick of the wrist, she waved her off.

XXX

Kakashi had been having an off day. First, his morning visit to Obito was interrupted by his secretary. Then when he arrived at his office there was a brand new stack of papers that he had to read over and sign. There was also the meeting with the Feudal Lord, in which he was very close to losing his normally calm-faced demeanor, and strangle the man. Finally, with the arrival of a genin team who found two well to do ANBU members dead, resulting in him informing Moriyo who began to think back to the number of now dead or missing ANBU.

Him reaching out to the other Kages did nothing as well since it resulted in all of them coming up with the same problem: someone was hunting down ANBU.

The door to his office opened and Kakashi couldn't help but groan in exasperation upon seeing just who had barged in without knocking. "No." he sighed crossing his arms over his chest, watching the ex-avenger carefully.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes on the silver-haired kage and closed the door behind him. "You sent the writing to the analysis team four days ago and they haven't figured anything out?" he growled.

"The analysis team has other information to look over as well, Sasuke. They've got more going on than figuring out what sealing jutsu was used on Sayuri. She's not the top priority right now and I already told you that as soon as I know something I'd let you know." Kakashi was losing his patience. This is why he didn't want to be Hokage. He hated staying in one place, he hated the paperwork, and he hated not having answers.

"Her career is on the line." Sasuke ground out.

"Other people's lives are at stake." He countered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know this is important to you, but there are bigger things that need to be taken care of first."

"So I'm supposed to just sit back and do nothing." The Uchiha ground out.

"No." Kakashi laced his fingers together and leaned on his document littered desk. "You could deliver a message to Moriyo for me."

"Message?"

"Yes."

"Why not get one of your people to do it? Better yet another ANBU?"

"I've got my reasons." Kakashi wouldn't give anything away, that much Sasuke was sure about. He titled his head to the window, eyes shifting left to right for a second before turning back to the man at his desk.

"Where are your guards?"

Kakashi smiled under his mask a hand moved to pull out a sealed scroll from his desk drawer. He held it out for Sasuke to take. "It's important."

XXX

She blew stands of hair away from her face, in front of her several reports that she had to organize and transfer onto the computer for her slave driver of a boss. At least, she was caught up and only had to submit the most recent reports, but that didn't mean it was any easier. Today was proving her point, considering she had received six reports in the past hour. Around her the ninja who had been assigned the duty for the week typed away. Some groaning as they received another report, not like she could blame them.

 _This is_ exactly _what I expected being in the ANBU would be…_ Sayuri thought as she typed in a new report. _Typing and filing mission reports._

"Lady Sayuri!" she cringed, fingers hovering over the keyboard at the sound of her name. She looked around the computer screen to a new recruit. His mask was slightly to the side, and he looked a bit disheveled and sweaty.

 _He's probably back from training…_ She thought, eyes trailing down to the folder in his hands. "Yes?" she sighed as the young man took a step forward.

"Fox told me to give this to you." With a slight frown, Sayuri took the tan folder from the young man's hands. Flipping it open, she read its contents then peeked up at the fidgeting young ANBU.

"These are progress reports."

"Yes." He answered stiffly.

"I deal with mission reports."

"O-oh! L-lady Sayuri I'm-I-" around her the other ANBU began to snicker. Some had even stopped typing, sitting back on their chairs and smirking at the poor young man.

Watching him sputter, made her realize just what he was doing here. Fox was a ninja that joined the ANBU from ROOT. He was good at his job but had a nasty habit of sending the new recruits on wild goose chases. Sending them on errands and giving them wrong information. Watching the man closely she noticed the bruises scattered over than young man's shoulders, and he seemed to favor his right side. Fox's so-called teaching techniques borderline cruel at times. It didn't help that recently other ANBU have been joining in on the _fun_.

"I'll take care of it." At her words the teen seemed to relax, his stiff shoulders slumping in relief. "Go get some rest."

"But, Fox said-"

She pushed her chair back. "I'll take care of him."

"Thank you, Lady Sayuri!" the young man tried to bow but winced half way through the gesture. At that, the quiet murmur rose in volume as some began to laugh.

"Yes, _Lady_ Sayuri. You're too kind." One of them spoke, silver eyes on her as she walked towards the exit the office. She halted mid-step and yanked him by the collar of his black turtleneck.

"I suggest you keep your comments to yourself or you'll find yourself out of a job, did I make myself clear?" she hissed into his ear and pushed him back into his chair. Then turning to the ninja who had stood up from their desks to watch she glared. "Shows over." Almost immediately they all turned back to their work, the young ANBU trailed closely behind as she stepped into the hallway.

"Lady Sayuri, I-"

"Don't call me Lady Sayuri." She sighed.

"But Fox said that that's what everyone calls you."

"He lied." She walked around him. "For future reference progress reports go directly to Moriyo." She added just before disappearing around the corner.

She followed the hall, occasionally greeting the few ninja that bothered with her nowadays. The others were quick to move out of her way. Over the years, she managed to make a reputation for herself in a few ways, but it wasn't a conscious effort on her behalf. First was when everyone found out that she had been with Naruto and Sasuke and had helped in defeating Kaguya. The second time was when she was among the last five ANBU to be taken down by Moriyo in the fight for the position of ANBU Head. Then there was her nearly perfect record when it came to clearing missions, but that was completely forgotten in favor of her most famous failure. When she killed her target without having an actual reason to do so.

The ANBU prided themselves in being calm and composed during difficult times. They prided themselves in putting the mission first and being able to come back alive and unharmed. Something that had been at the core of the organization since its foundation with her clan, and she failed miserably. Her teammate came back traumatized, a ninja not involved at all with the mission was heavily injured, and she killed the target. The mission was a total failure.

Some of the ANBU that had known her since she was a young girl under Saito's care, understood why things had happened the way they did. Others weren't as forgiving. Some former ROOT members were delighted over the fact that Moriyo had put her in probation. During training sessions, they would make it their duty to thoroughly beat her down and if they couldn't then they tried to tire her out. But she knew how to handle herself. She fought back and talked back. She welcomed criticism, but not when it was done to harm her intentionally. She knew she messed up and she beat herself over it several times, but she was not about to let someone else do it for her.

"Good afternoon, _Lady_ Sayuri."

Sayuri stopped and watched the man leaning against the wall. His mask was hanging off his hip, arms crossed over his chest, a smirk on his lips. His brown hair was swept to the side; gray eyes staring her down.

She rolled her eyes. "Fox. Do you ever get tired of being a pain?"

"Lady Sayuri! I'm only doing my job."

"You know damn well that I don't like being called that." Her grip on the folder tightened, wrinkling it even further.

"Oh, but I do. Enjoy calling you Lady, that is." He chuckled. "Did you like my little joke?"

Sayuri's eyes narrowed at the man as he stood his full height, towering over her. "Listen here, ass hole, the next time you try to pull one of your little hazing stunts with me I'm going to show you exactly where you can shove these documents." She warned, pushing past him, but he was quicker and managed to grip her by the wrist yanking her to him.

"I'd watch my mouth if I was you. Everyone knows your chakra is sealed. The only reason why you're not inactive is because of who your family is. But let me make something really clear for you, _Lady_ Sayuri…" Her eyes flickered to his hand when he added pressure on her wrist. He smirked and leaned towards her ear. "You're nothing without your chakra, useless. You've been a disgrace to your clan from day one, being conceived out of wedlock, being unable to properly control your kekkei genkai, and failing crucial missions." He laughed. "I'm an asset to this organization, something that you stopped being a while ago. You're not fooling anyone. You're weak, and I'm going to make sure our so-called Leader kicks you out for good unless you start playing nice."

"Are you threatening me?"

Fox pulled back, smirking down at her. "You do catch on quickly, Lady Sayuri."

"I see." She nodded and stomped on his foot, her other hand letting go of the folder and ramming itself into his side. She twisted her hand out of his grip and took hold of his arm, twisting it behind him and slamming him against the wall. "The next time you come up to me, and touch me without my permission I'm going to tear that hand of yours off, and we'll see how much of an asset you'll be when I'm done with you." She spat, her own hand tightening over his arm feeling the strain of his muscles. "I may not have my chakra, but I can still fight." He hissed when his arm began to give cracking at the bone. "And this is not a threat, it's a promise." She whispered and pulled away.

Fox gripped his arm and turned to Sayuri who had bent down to pick up the folder she dropped. "You little-"

"Sayuri." The former ROOT member turned to the corner where Sasuke stood watching the two carefully. The auburn haired girl tucked the loose papers back into the folder and stepped back. She turned to Sasuke stiffly. "I need to talk to Moriyo." He said after a minute of silence, eyes sliding over to the taller man who was nursing his hand.

Sayuri cast one last glare at the man and waved the Uchiha over. "This way." He quietly made his way behind her, giving the other man a once over as he walked by.

This had been the first time in two weeks that he's seen her. It was almost like she had been avoiding him, something that he had no doubt she'd actually been doing and that he had been actively doing himself. Her hair swayed in with each step she took up the stairs, and his fingers itched to tug it out of that ponytail of hers. He faltered at the thought, chest tightening recalling the events of that night.

 _She made it pretty clear that she wants nothing to do with me._ He shifted his gaze to the dark, wooden, steps. It was better this way, though wasn't it? Just look at what happened to Indra, and Madara. _I'm pretty sure they weren't the only ones, if what the Hermit said was true._

"…Sasuke?" The sound of his name snapped him out of his train of thought. Sayuri stood next to a door, hand on the knob, staring up at him. She looked completely neutral, and he began to wonder when she had learned to control her expressions.

 _Completely detached from the situation._ No hint of worry or panic. _Had_ she learned to appear apathetic or did she genuinely not care?

 **What happened last night was a lapse of judgment.**

 _Lapse of judgment. A mistake._

Sayuri, on the other hand, was anything but calm behind her façade. Her heart thundered behind her ribcage, and her lungs struggled for air. It took a lot of effort from her part to keep herself from bolting out of there. Watching him watch her with his calculating, black orbs, made it hard to keep herself from fidgeting and then something changed. His gaze became cold, and for the first time, she felt insignificant under it. She didn't like this feeling. She preferred it much better when his eyes were warm.

 _You can't have both._ She scolded herself. _You can't push him away and feel entitled to his attention at the same time. Grow up, Sayuri. This is for his own good._ She twisted the warm doorknob and pulled the door open. Stepping back, she watched him enter the room and followed quietly behind.

Moriyo raised a brow. "Sasuke Uchiha." She said then turned her sharp orange eyes to Sayuri as she closed the door behind her, folder in hand.

"Fox thought it'd be funny to send a new recruit to turn in the status reports." Sayuri informed, handing the woman the folder.

"I'll have a talk with him." Replied Moriyo, flipping from one report to the next. When Sayuri didn't move she looked up at her. "Anything else?"

"He needs more than just a talk." The Marihasha whispered.

Moriyo pursed her lips and looked around the auburn haired young woman. "We'll talk later." Sayuri nodded with a jerk of her head and quietly exited the room, not even looking at Sasuke on her way out. Frowning the ANBU leader turned her attention to Sasuke. "Yes?"

Sasuke stepped forward and placed the scroll on her desk. "From Kakashi."

"He has you as a new delivery boy now?" Moriyo asked, peeling the scroll open and reading its contents. A frown marred her features, she glanced up at the young man in front of her then back down to the scroll. "Sasuke Uchiha looks like you've been recommended for ANBU."

XXX

Sayuri absentmindedly rubbed her wrist as she descended the stairs. _A disgrace huh…_ She closed her eyes and sighed when she reached the bottom. _He's probably right. Lately, I can't seem to do anything right._ She thought back to Sasuke and her heart ached.

"Lady Sayuri."

Sayuri inhaled sharply recognizing the voice. "This day just keeps getting better and better." Her sarcastic tone did not go unnoticed by the duo standing at the entrance of the ANBU building.

"Where are your manners, young lady!" Koharu scolded, next to her Homura crossed his arms.

Sayuri shifted her weight to her left leg and looked at them with disdain. "Why are you here?" she demanded.

Homura glared at the young woman but kept his tone neutral. "We're here to speak with Moriyo. Show us to her."

Sayuri scoffed and rolled her eyes. "She's with Sasuke right now."

Koharu's brows raised. "The Uchiha boy?"

"Yes, does that surprise you?" Sayuri offered them a fake smile. "You two can show yourselves to her." She said and continued her walk back to the reports office. Behind her, Homura and Koharu stared after Sayuri in shock.

 _The nerve of those two showing up here of all places!_ She fumed. _Why the hell did Kakashi keep them anyway!?_ Her coworkers looked up from their reports and computers to the fuming Marihasha as she entered the room. Watching as she sat down and began typing away furiously.

XXX

Sasuke closed the door behind him, stepping out into the sunlit hallway. The sound of a pair of footsteps halting down the hall caught his attention. His black orbs widened by a small fraction but he quickly schooled himself back to a neutral expression.

"Sasuke." Homura greeted. Sasuke merely grunted and walked past them, not sparing them another glance. Just because he had acknowledged that he made bad decisions in the past, did not mean that he forgave them for their part in everything that had occurred.

He descended the stairs into the main lobby where he saw the man that was with Sayuri in the hallway. His fist clenched at his side and he quietly approached the ANBU who was mocking a young recruit and yanked him by the collar, slamming him against the wall. His hand held him firmly in place by the neck as the dark haired man's eyes widened in shock. Behind him, the kid backed away unsure of what to do.

"The next time you touch her; I'll do more than rip your hand off." He warned, tone dropping and eyes flaring into the Sharingan and Rinnegan. Eyes narrowed at the man who, for his credit, only showed fear in his eyes. Sasuke smirked and let him go, exiting the building without another word.

 _ANBU…_ Sasuke weaved his way past the villagers. _All right Kakashi. I'll do it your way._

"Sasuke!" he heard Naruto call from behind. The Uchiha looked over his shoulder not too surprised to see Sakura tagging along with the blonde. "Where've you been?" the blonde asked when he came to a stop. Next to the blonde, Sakura placed a hand on her hip tilting her head to the side, curious as well.

"Busy."

Sakura pouted. "You could give us more than that. We've been looking for you. Kakashi-sensei said that he sent you on an errand." He nodded. "Sooo?" she leaned forward. "Naruto's been telling me of your nightly bar escapades."

At her words, Sasuke turned to Naruto sharply, the later scratching his head with a nervous laugh. "I was worried."

"It's none of your business." Sasuke said through gritted teeth and stalked away.

"Is it because of Sayuri?" Sakura whispered, close on his heels. Emerald green eyes, caught the moment when his shoulders tensed. She opened her mouth about to offer an apology but she quickly snapped it closed. She'd be lying to herself if she said she wasn't jealous. Of course she was! This was the boy she'd been crushing on since she was eight! But he didn't love her, and it wasn't fair to her. She looked over to Naruto, who reddened at being caught staring, and smiled. She might be a bit jealous, but she'd like to believe that she was growing past it. "Sasuke, you should talk to her."

"That's what I've been saying!" the blonde agreed. Both bright haired ninja halted mid-step when Sasuke abruptly turned to them.

"Do you mind not letting people know about my personal life!" he hissed at the two. Naruto and Sakura froze and looked around them, catching a few of the villagers staring and whispering amongst themselves.

"How about we do a little sparring session?" Naruto quickly offered.

"That sounds good." Sakura added. Both turning to the brooding Uchiha expectantly.

XXX

Sayuri was walking out of the building when she spotted her two teammates standing by a nearby bench. She blinked a few times and stuffed her hands in her coat to protect them from the cold air.

"There you are!" Hajime sighed and walked towards her, Diachi close on his tail.

"You seem…happier," Sayuri responded warily. "What's wrong with you? You've been acting strange since our last mission."

"Oh! Uh…" Hajime scratched the back of his silver hair and laughed awkwardly. "I just…I want to apologize. I haven't really been a good friend."

Sayuri raised a brow in confusion. "You've always been a lousy friend."

"Shut it brat!" he snapped waving a fist in front of her.

At his reaction Sayuri smiled. "You see." Hajime pulled back and let his arm fall to his side, knowing that she was only joking.

"Want to go get some dinner? My treat." Diachi asked, gesturing to the main road that led to the village's center.

"Ah!" she nodded and walked in between the two men.

"Today I got stuck on training duty with Fox." Hajime sighed, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back slightly. "That guy's ruthless. You can tell he was trained by Danzo." At the mention of that man's code name, Sayuri's fists balled.

"No kidding, I don't think it was a good idea to let them join the ANBU." Diachi added. "Well…not all of them. Some of the ROOT members seem to have integrated into our organization but the others…"

"It was either that, or let them to their own devices." Sayuri grumbled.

Diachi rubbed his chin. "You have a point." He agreed.

"Hey, how about this place!" Hajime exclaimed jabbing a finger at their regular Korean barbecue place.

"Sure." Diachi shrugged and Sayuri led the way. Their hostess quickly ushered them to a booth and the team took a seat on the cushions and took their orders for type of meat.

"I know you're not treating me to dinner just to chit chat." Sayuri pointed, letting her hands hover over the small grill to warm them up. "What am I really here for?"

"Sharp as ever." Diachi smiled and thanked the waitress as she placed their bowl of seasoned meat on their table.

"It's a celebration of sorts," Hajime replied watching as Sayuri and Diachi picked up their meat and laid it on the hissing grill. "I've been promoted to captain."

Sayuri nearly dropped the meat in her chopsticks. "What?" mismatched brown eyes shifted from one man to the other. "Really?"

"Yes."

"That's amazing!" Sayuri beamed at them. "I'm proud of you!"

"Yeah, it kinda came out of nowhere." Hajime rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's about time too. You were the last one." She joked and dodged the balled up napkin that he threw her way.

"So captain," Diachi began. "How does it feel?"

Hajime laughed. "Like I can take on the world! Let's order drinks to celebrate!"

"Whoa there…" Sayuri laughed. "Baby steps, big guy. I'm still underage."

"Well, then _you_ can make sure we get home safe."

As the night went on her two teammates came closer to finishing their food and bottle of sake a group of girls sat in the booth next to theirs.

"It's a shame Sasuke didn't show today." One pouted catching Sayuri's attention.

"Yeah. I was so close to getting him last time too!"

"Ha! In your dreams!"

The two boys sitting across from her watched their teammate take a drink of her water. The two leaned forwards to get a look at the girls in the booth across from theirs.

"Naruto's gotten pretty cute too!" exclaimed a blonde. "But Sasuke's still…" she sighed.

"I wonder why they didn't show." A brunette girl asked, crossing her arms under her revealing top. "I just need a little more time with Sasuke, and I'm pretty sure I'll be the next Uchiha matriarch!"

"Not if I get to him first!" replied a redhead. "Sasuke is-"

The group of girls stopped talking at the sound of the slamming cup on the black table. The girls turned to a stunned Sayuri who pulled her hand back, surprised at her own anger. She quickly snatched her chopstick and picked up a piece of cooked meat and stuffed it in her mouth.

"That's Sayuri…" one of them whispered, clearly not aware that ninja had good hearing. "She's the other girl in Sasuke's team when they were younger." The group of girls huddled together in an attempt to hide their conversation.

"She's the one that Naruto mentioned."

" _She's_ the one?"

Growling, Sayuri snapped the pair of chopsticks in half as she angrily chewed her food.

"Maybe we should go." Offered Hajime slowly. Waving over their waitress who was quick to pull out their tab.

"Sayuri?" Diachi asked as Hajime paid their waitress. The auburn haired young woman stood up stiffly and began to follow Daichi.

"She doesn't look like much." Sniffed the brunette on the table. Upon hearing that, Sayuri balled her hands. "Sasuke, can do better."

The girl screamed as she felt water land all over her head. Her friends looked up at the angered auburn haired girl with an empty glass in her hand.

"Ok, time to go now." He laughed nervously, taking the glass out of her hands, and quickly pushing her out the door.

"They're just civilians, Sayuri." Diachi scolded once outside the restaurant.

"They weren't being very nice." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You two seem sober enough. I'm going home." She grumbled and began to walk away.

"Wait! Don't you want us to walk you home?" yelled Hajime.

"No!"

XXX

Leaving a giggling Sakura and Naruto behind at Ichiraku's Sasuke made his way home. He rubbed his nose feeling it cool down along with the cold night air. Sparring with Naruto and Sakura turned out to be a two on one. He smiled at himself, at least Sakura and Naruto seemed happier. They were a little awkward with each other, but that seemed to subside when they headed out to eat.

The street lamps began to flicker on one by one the further away from the center that he went, above him the sun had completely set leaving behind only a small streak of fuchsia. The nightlife quieting down as he entered the residential area. Entering the park, he stopped when he heard the creaking of a swing. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of Sayuri gently rocking herself with the tip of her shoe.

Sensing someone's eyes on her, the Marihasha looked up a small gasp escaping her lips. Her foot halted the rocking as she stared back, hands clenching around the chains.

He watched her stand up, one hand still on the chain of the swing the other clenching and unclenching at her side.

She watched him stand on the other side of the park, under the lamp light.

 _Should I say something?_ The two wondered as seconds turned into minutes. _No. It won't change a thing._ Sayuri turned away and Sasuke continued down the road.

 **A.N.**

 **There you have it. Please review! Let me know what you think. I know it's frustrating and I'm sorry!**

 **Thank you for your support!**


	15. What's Left

**A.N.**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

What's Left

There are moments when you just know everything is about to change. For him, that moment was the day that Sayuri stood by his bedside hands quivering at her sides.

" **If I hadn't gotten in the way you could've ended up with more than a few simple scratches!" He retorted, suddenly feeling angry and defensive. How could she not see that he was only protecting her.**

" **You need to worry about yourself first! You can't just jump to anyone's aid without thinking! You're** supposed **to be the reasonable one!"**

" **You're my** teammate **!" He replied exasperated. "Besides, what did more damage was you stabbing me through the abdomen! If you were a better ninja maybe I wouldn't have ended up here!"**

 **He had gone too far. He knew it before the words finished leaving his mouth, and before he watched her take a step back. Her mouth parted slightly, red and blue eyes wide, her shoulders stopped moving as she held her breath, and her hands went up to her heart. He grinded his teeth and looked away when his own chest began to ache at the look she had given him.**

" **Here take it, I don't want it." The words made him turn back to her watching as she carefully placed the bell necklace on the hospital bed, eyes not meeting his, hand hovering over the jewelry. "Give it to someone who deserves it." Her voice just above a whisper but he heard her nonetheless.**

 **He reached for her hand a second too late. She pulled away quickly and turned to make her way to the door.**

 **He wanted to apologize but when he opened his mouth nothing came out. His pride got the better of him and all he could do was slam his fist against the white mattress.**

 _And now I'm here…_ Sasuke slid his black cloak on, black eyes staring at his reflection in the mirror then shifting to the mask in his hand. _ANBU…_ he thought recalling that his brother had been one before everything went wrong. _Am I really about to do this?_ He asked himself, finger twitching against the cool, hard material that made up his crow mask.

" **I don't like you very much, but Kakashi is determined." Moriyo said, rolling her sharp orange eyes at him.**

" **Why? Because I used to be a traitor and now he wants to make sure that I won't defect again?" he replied bitterly.**

" **No." the woman sighed. "Because you hold Sayuri's wellbeing above your own…Isn't that right?"**

" **I don't see how she has anything to do with this. You seem pretty determined to keep us apart."**

 **She laughed catching him slightly off guard. "Well can you blame me? I've been looking out for her for a long time now, she's a good ninja, but when you're around a lot of things go wrong. Her track record has gone down the drain. The other ANBU don't respect her like they should. She's losing credibility, and every time that happens you're involved. She puts** your **wellbeing above her own, the missions…above the village's."**

" **Am I here, for you to berate me about my relationship with Sayuri or about the ANBU." He interrupted, becoming agitated.**

" **Fine. We got another lead. We want you, Hajime, and Diachi to investigate."**

" **And that involves me and the ANBU how?"**

" **Your manners are still lacking I see." She hissed. "It'll keep your identity hidden, technically no one is supposed to be giving you any type of missions and we've received backlash from the Raikage, who's not too happy with Kakashi right now. We want you because you've had the most experience with these people, and sending out other ANBU with no clue as to what they're getting into has proven dangerous."**

" **So then just send me alone, why give me a team?"**

" **Because it'll heighten the chance of you coming back alive."**

" **That's not all." Sasuke said after a moment of silence.**

" **All you need to know is that doing this will keep Sayuri safe."**

Sasuke rolled the bell necklace in his hand and placed it carefully on the small lamp table next to his bed. Mask already in place, he left the apartment quietly into the night. When he arrived at the gates, his two partners were already waiting.

"You can call me Koga." Hajime said, rooster mask in place

"Gin." Said Diachi, tilting his dog masked head.

"Karasu." Sasuke said.

Diachi nodded. "Well, Karasu, let's go."

She may not feel the way that he feels about her, but that wouldn't stop him from keeping her out of harm's way. Even if it meant that he become a part of Konoha that he never would've joined in the first place.

XXX

Surrounded by trees, all Sayuri could hear was pained cries. **"Sasuke!"** she called out but was quickly shoved to the ground.

" **You're going to die."**

Sayuri sat up in a cold sweat, gasping for air, and clutching her shirt. "It's just a dream." She murmured, trembling hands going up to the sides of her head, gripping her unruly hair. "It's just a dream."

She could still hear the pained cries.

"It's just a dream." She sobbed quietly, burying her head in her knees.

XXX

"Have you figured it out?" Moriyo asked, eyes on the computer screen.

Crossing her arms, Sayuri shifted her weight to one leg and frowned. "What?" Orange eyes slid to her with a flicker of annoyance.

"I'm not going to keep you here and have you mope around headquarters." The woman said, turning back to the computer.

"There is nothing else for me." Sayuri sighed, eyes turning to the window. "I don't _have_ anything else."

She turned back to her former mentor when she sighed. "If you can't figure out something so simple, then maybe I was wrong about you." Sayuri flinched at the words. They stung coming from someone she considered to be close to her. "You can have the week off, maybe that will help." The dark haired woman finished with a flick of her hand, waving the young konoichi off.

Biting her lip and inhaling sharply, Sayuri turned and left quietly stopping by her locker to retrieve her clothes and change out of her uniform. The sun stung her eyes the moment she stepped out. It was still cold, but not too intolerable. Sighing, she stuffed her hands into her pockets and decided to take a walk, trying to clear her head. Instead her feet took her to the gates of the academy. Where the young woman paused and looked up at the building in sadness.

 _What else_ is _there for me?_ She wondered. Her fingers were getting cold but she ignored the stinging pain in favor of watching the academy. Maybe this was as far as she got to go. Maybe she really wasn't meant to be a ninja. Just because her mother and father were didn't mean that she had to be one too. _But no, I had to be stubborn, I_ had _to be a ninja._ She laughed bitterly. _Look where that got me now._

Turning away from the academy she continued on her way, vaguely aware of the many people she passed by. _And now we've got a threat…Kenji could be the treat and here I am, unable to do anything about it._ Sayuri frowned, how could he do something like this?! How could he turn his back on the village? How could he act so selfishly? Her footsteps came to halt recalling that Sasuke had done it too and that she was almost just as willing to let the village burn to the ground.

 _Stop thinking about him!_ She scolded herself, biting her lip at the sudden clench of her heart. She brought it on herself after all.

A sudden scream broke her out of her train of thought. Looking up she watched a young man flailing his arms wildly around him, eyes wide as he fell from the sky. "Ah!" Sayuri yelped and took several steps back letting the boy fall to the ground arms outstretched, face kissing the concrete.

Sayuri stood frozen in place watching the boy push himself off the ground. "Sorry!" he said as he sat up.

"Yuru!" A chorus of voices called out and several kids broke through the trail, all running to check on their friend.

 _What are they wearing…?_ Sayuri wondered, eye twitching at the children's spandex uniforms all varying in color.

"Are you ok, Yuru?" Sayuri nearly jumped when Lee landed beside her, hands on hips, thick brows dipped in concern.

"Yes, sir!" Yuru sprung up and saluted his master with a wide grin.

Witnessing this all Sayuri could do was stare. "What just happened…?"

"Ah!" Lee turned to her and bowed. "I apologize if my student scared you, Sayuri. I promise it will not happen again!"

Sayuri's eyes shifted from Lee to the group of kids staring up at the green spandex wearing man in amazement. "Students?"

"Yes!" Lee grinned. "They are my student's. Is this not wonderful!? They're at the peak of youth and are eager to learn!"

"Wow…I suppose that is good news."

"We want to be ninja!" one of the girls said. "Lee-sensei said that if we train hard enough we could!"

"Yes!" Lee agreed. "A ninja just like, Sayuri here! Actually," her turned to her, face bright with a new idea. "…Sayuri would you mind training with us?"

"Oh, I…" she began raising her hands. "I just have a lot on my mind and I don't know if I'll be any help."

"Do not worry, Sayuri! Perhaps if you take your mind off things for a bit, it could help. What do you say?" He tried again. She turned to the children noticing that they had the same eager look as their master.

"...All right." She sighed.

"Yes! Let's give it our all, Sayuri!" Lee said giving her his famous good guy pose.

XXX

"Your posture is off." She said, moving to adjust one of the boy's hands and torso. "Like that."

"It feels weird." The boy replied, pouting at the stiffness in his back.

"You're not used to it, but you will get there. You just need practice."

They were an hour in, and she could already tell that the children were well versed in basic taijutsu. She rarely had to step in to fix their mistakes, something that impressed her quite a bit. Even she wasn't that good at their age.

"Sayuri?" she turned to female calling her name. TenTen stood at the entrance of the training ground surprised to see the young woman outside of work. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was helping Lee." She nodded to the man that was training one on one with Yuru again. She quickly learned that Yuru had become what Lee was to Gai, strangely she found that endearing.

"I see."

"TenTen-sensei?" a teenage girl ran up the young woman. "Did you bring more weapons."

"You're not allowed to use anything other than kunai." She quickly lectured. "Not until, you can show me you've completely mastered it."

"Awww!" she hunched over, looking crestfallen.

"Go on and practice." TenTen instructed to which the girl quickly perked up and ran to a post.

"Are you two training them together?" Sayuri asked as TenTen approached her.

"Yeah, Gai-sensei loves the idea of giving civilian children a chance at becoming ninja."

"Just like Lee."

"Yes." TenTen smiled brown eyes scanning the shorter woman. Cupping her chin, she stepped in front of Sayuri and leaned forward, startling the Marihasha at the closeness. "What happened to your eyes? They weren't like that after the war."

Regaining her composure, Sayuri sighed. "I lost most of my chakra."

"WHAT?! How!?"

"It was sealed off." Sayuri replied, her left arm coming over her right as she looked to the ground. "I'm pretty much useless right now."

"Useless?" the bun haired young woman echoed. "You're kidding right." At her comment Sayuri looked back at the weapon's mistress.

"Ninja don't rely solely on ninjutsu and genjutsu. C'mon, Sayuri you know better than that! Neji once told us that you never really learned genjutsu, but that you made up for it with ninjutsu. So now that you don't have that, what do you have left?"

The auburn haired young woman blinked a few times in shock. "I'm an idiot." Sayuri sighed, running a hand through her hair. "That's what Moriyo-sensei was trying to tell me."

TenTen laughed. "It's not entirely your fault." She assured, placing a hand on the Marihasha's shoulder. "Sometimes when you're _in_ the problem it's harder to see the solution."

"Yes, well it would have taken me longer if I hadn't agreed to be here." She glanced back at the children enthusiastically sparing with each other. "My taijutsu has always been average compared to my ninjutsu, it was my specialty after all."

"Well…" The weapons mistress draped an arm around the shorter girls neck. "…It's a good thing you agreed to come here, Lee is always happy to take on new students after all!"

"TIIMMMBEEERRR!" the two konoichi heard a child yell and quickly scanned the area to where Lee had just kicked a tree so hard that it toppled over.

"LEE!" TenTen yelled rushing over to the green clad ninja. "Just what do you think you're doing!?"

"Sorry, TenTen." The young man laughed scratching his cheek. "Oh?" he straightened as Sayuri approached the two. "Have you been enjoying yourself, Sayuri?"

"Yes. I've also found a solution to a problem of mine." She bowed at the green spandex wearing man who watched her in confusion. "I would like you to take me on as a student and help me perfect my taijutsu, please."

It took Lee a second to break out into a grin. "I would be honored to train you, Sayuri! This is going to be great and as gift for entering my class, I give you this!" he thrusted a green spandex suit into Sayuri's hands. TenTen sighed, shaking her head at her teammate. "The suit's optional." She informed her.

"Yes, but it will help improve your skills tenfold!" Lee encouraged.

Sayuri laughed nervously. "I will…keep that in mind."

XXX

"Oh…fuck." Hajime cursed, looking down at the bodies lying on the wooden floor.

Diachi rushed to the two, turning them onto their backs. "It's them alright." His voice was muffled by the dog mask he had on, but they could still hear the sadness in it.

Sasuke moved around the cabin, stopping at the table taking note of the untouched food on it. "This couldn't have happened more than two days ago." He turned back to the two men by the doorway. "Did you know them?"

"We went on the occasional mission together." Hajime answered.

Sasuke looked around him, rinnegan activated in case he missed anything. "Something's not right here. Whoever did this, made a mess." He said looking at the scattered blood on the ground.

"That's our mission." Said Diachi.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked directing his gaze to the dog masked man. "Your leader told me that our mission was eliminating the men that are working with Naoki."

"That's _your_ mission." Said Hajime as he pushed off his knees and stood up. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the men across from him. He knew there was something more, but he wasn't sure what at first, but now he's got an idea of what's going on.

"They're killing ANBU." The two remained silent but their stiff postured confirmed it. "Does Sayuri know?"

"We all know." His black orbs slid to Hajime.

"Killing two birds with one stone then." Sasuke watched as Diachi suddenly moved to the man closest to the table. "What is it?"

"They were our lead…" he mumbled then tilted his head up to look under the table. "Earth and Tomoya Kisa…"

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"It's carved under the table. Earth and Tomoya Kisa." His eyes narrowed at the blood on the wood.

"Earth and someone named Tomoya Kisa?" Hajime repeated. "What's that about?" he asked kneeling beside him and sticking his head under the wooden piece of furniture. "That's it? That's all we get." His hand going into his pouch.

"Earth country…" the two turned to Sasuke. "Tomoya is our target."

Diachi stood up and patted his dark pants. "It's the only explanation I can think of."

"Well he's definitely wanted…" Hajime flipped over his Bingo book to them and showed them a picture of man in his early thirties, with green hair and black eyes.

"Alright then, that's where we'll be heading!"

Sasuke followed the two men out of the hideout and watched them leap off onto their next destination. Frowning he looked around the area then back at the hideout within the cave. Even he wouldn't have known that this place was here if Hajime and Diachi hadn't led him to it. _So how is it possible that Naoki and his men knew where to find it?_ He wondered and stepped out into the sunlight. Something wasn't adding up.

XXX

"Gah!" Sayuri yelped as she landed on her back for the umpteenth time that day. She blew a strand of loose hair that fell over her eyes and stared up at the white clouds above. She could hear the snickering of the children in the sidelines and the shuffling feet of her current master.

"Stand up, Sayuri!" Lee encouraged. "We must practice again."

"Give me…a moment." She said between breaths. When she asked to be trained she didn't realize that Lee would want her to start immediately. She wasn't even really dressed for it, but that didn't seem to deter Lee. She hadn't thought it be much of a problem either but now…She pushed herself to a sitting position and she could see TenTen watching her with an amused smile. Light and dark brown eyes scanned her ripped and dirty clothing.

"Up and at it, Sayuri!" said Lee as she pushed herself up on wobbly legs. "You can do it!"

"Yeah! C'mon, granny!" Yelled Yuru.

"Kid, I'm not that much older than you!" Sayuri yelled waving a fist, momentarily turning her attention to the grinning boy. Her eyes widened as soon as she realized her mistake and quickly ducked to avoid a flying sidekick by her trainer. "What was that!?" she demanded from the young man as he shifted to face her.

"You must be alert at all times of incoming threats! You did very well, I expected nothing less of you!" he grinned and charged at her again sending jab after jab at her while she scrambled to dodge. "Use the power of youth to keep yourself going, Sayuri!" Lee cheered as he switched to kicks.

She blocked and avoided as best she could but she soon tired out and slipped. Leaving her open for a kick to the side. She cried out in pain as she landed on her side with a dull thud.

"Sayuri?" TenTen rushed to her and helped her sit up. "Lee, I think that's enough for today."

"Yeah…" Sayuri breathed. "I think…I'm good for now."

"Alright then!" he paused and looked up at the sky, noticing how late it was. "All right children time to head home. Tomorrow come with your weights!"

"Yes sir!" the children said in unison and the all ran off leaving only the three ninja behind.

"Weights?" Sayuri asked watching her trainer as he waved the last of the children off.

"Yes." He grinned. "Do not worry, I'll have yours tomorrow!" She glanced at TenTen who shrugged with a sigh and handed her a bottle of water.

"Be here at 1." Tenten instructed pulling her up. "And wear training clothes." Sayuri looked down at her dirtied clothes again and blushed.

"Well I wasn't really planning on training today."

Lee laughed and patted her shoulder. "You should always come prepared."

"Right…" she responded looking at the trees behind the training ground and then at the darkening sky. "I…I'll be going now." Both young adults frowned at the sudden stiffness of her shoulders and she momentarily cursed herself for forgetting that she was among ninja who have learned to pick up on physical cues.

"Are you alright?" asked Lee.

"Yeah." She smiled keeping her tone neutral. "I'll be here at 1 sharp. Bye!" she waved and sprinted out of there, keeping her eyes on the trail ahead of her, shoulders only relaxing as soon as the flickering lights from the village hit her. Bowing her head, she took a deep breath that was quickly lost at the feeling of something heavy on her shoulder. Acting on autopilot she grabbed the offending object and twisted, a loud yelp snapping her back to reality.

"SAYURI!" Naruto cried out as his wrist was twisted in an unnatural angle.

"Naruto?" she gasped and quickly let him go. "Don't _do_ that to me!" she hissed.

"I'm sorry! What's got you so worked up?"

"Nothing." She sighed. "What are you doing anyway?"

The blonde grinned. "I wanted to invite you and Sasuke out to eat with Sakura and I."

At the mention of the Uchiha, Sayuri frowned. "I have something to do tomorrow." She quickly lied. "Besides I thought you and Sasuke was busy flirting with other girls."

"Who's flirting with other girls?" the two turned to Sakura who landed gracefully in front of them. Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Na-" Sayuri started but was cut off by Naruto's hand slapping over her mouth.

"No one." He said in a slightly higher pitch than normal for him making Sayuri raise a brow and Sakura narrow her green eyes. "Anyway did you find him?"

"No…" The rosette answered slowly, eyes on Sayuri as she pried Naruto's hand off her face. "He wasn't at his usual training spot it's kind of late maybe we should check his apartment."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Hey!" Sayuri yelled when the blonde linked his arm with Sayuri's and tugged her along. "Naruto, let go. I already told you I've got plans tomorrow and I really am not dressed to go out to eat right now!"

"Nope! You're not getting off easy. This is a team bonding experience. You and the bastard are going to take that stick out your asses and enjoy dinner!"

Behind them Sakura giggled as they walked past several businesses that were closing for the night and several others that were getting ready for their night customers. They walked into a quieter district and to an apartment complex when Naruto let go of her arm and led the two konoichi up the stairs to the third floor. He stopped at the second door and knocked. Sayuri looked off to the side watching a couple of people below walking towards the towns center. Her head snapping back to the blonde as soon as she heard the loud banging on the door.

"SASUKE!"

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed pulling the man back by the collar of his jacket. "Are you crazy?! Some people may be sleeping!"

"The bastard's got to be in there. Where else would he be!"

"He's not there." The two turned to Sayuri who leaned against the rail.

"How would you know!?" Naruto demanded.

 _A year of actively avoiding him…_ She thought. "I don't sense him…and you're supposed to be the strongest ninjas in our village…" her two companions faces lit up in embarrassment.

Sakura, recovering first, turned to the door and leaned an ear against it. "I can't hear anyone in there either Naruto."

"Well where can the bastard be!?"

"You're the one with the Sage's chakra…" Sayuri mumbled not really wanting to find the Uchiha but knowing Naruto wasn't going to let her go unless she joined them, might as well get it over with. "…Why don't you use it." She watched Naruto's blue eyes widen just before he shut them in concentration. His once relaxed facial expression darkened. His blonde brows dipped and his mouth curved downward.

Noticing the change in mood of the blonde, Sakura stepped closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sayuri narrowed her brown eyes at the two in confusion. _She's awfully close to Naruto for someone that says she loves Sasu-_ She stopped her train of thought right there. It's not like she was any better she slept with the rosette's boyfriend!

"He's not here."

"What?" the two girls asked in unison.

"That ass hole isn't in the entire village. I can't find him. He left!" he shouted the last part kicking the door hard enough to leave a small dent.

 _Did he seriously leave…just like that?_ She wondered feeling her stomach turn into a knot.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked the Uzumaki. "But he wouldn't leave without saying good bye."

"Well he did." Sayuri replied, the anger sinking in. She didn't even really know why she was angry. Was it because he didn't say good bye to his girlfriend or best friend? Or was it because he didn't even bother to tell her? _Oh like you wouldn't have bolted the minute you got the chance!_ Her nails were beginning to dig into her palm. _How could he!_ "It's just like him." Oh she was definitely mad and the other two ninja knew it. "It's not like he hasn't done it before."

"Sayuri!" Naruto started taken aback. "He wouldn't do that to us-"

"Oh really? Because it sure looks like he is doing it to us-you… _again!"_

"There has to be a reason-"

"Quit making excuses for him, Naruto. He's a grown adult and he'll do whatever the hell he wants."

"Sayuri…" Sakura began. "Are you alright? You're really agitated."

"Oh course I'm agitated! I didn't want to come in the first place. I was perfectly fine with going home and taking a nice shower and going to sleep. Instead you two dragged me out _here_! When are the two of you going to understand that things are not like how they were when we were kids! We're not the same Team Seven and I am not a part of Team Seven anymore! Now I would really appreciate it if you left me out of your get togethers from now on!"

"What the hell Sayuri!" Naruto started eyes narrowed at the brunette. "You're just as part of Team Seven as the rest of us! So why don't you tell us why you're really angry!"

"Excuse me…"

"What!?" the two feuding ninja turned to an older man peeking out behind his apartment door.

"W-We're…" He took a second to steel himself. "We're trying to sleep. P-Please could you perhaps take your fight somewhere else."

"Oh of course!" Sakura faked a smile. "We were just leaving…right guys." She turned to the two actively glaring daggers at each other. "Naruto…Sayuri…" she said through gritted teeth trying to keep her own annoyance at bay.

"I'm getting the hell out of here. Enjoy your team bonding." The brunette leapt over the railing landing on her feet and stalked off. In the distance she could hear Sakura quietly scolding Naruto but she really couldn't care less. She was livid. How could he just up and leave like that?!

 _It's not like he owed you any explanation. You made it clear that you didn't want anything from him._ She stopped in her tracks watching a street light flicker. "So then…why do I feel so terrible?" she asked herself.

 **A.N.**

 **I am so sorry! Please forgive me! I've been really busy with life. I'm still writing, I promise. Some of you pointed out my mistake in the last chapter and I fixed it. That's what happens when you do your editing past midnight, sorry guys! Hopefully I can have the next chapter out sooner.**

 **Please tell me your thoughts! Reviews please! Thank you!**


	16. Fear

**A.N.**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

" _Oh course I'm agitated! I didn't want to come in the first place. I was perfectly fine with going home and taking a nice shower and going to sleep. Instead you two dragged me out here! When are the two of you going to understand that things are not like how they were when we were kids! We're not the same Team Seven and I am not a part of Team Seven anymore! Now I would really appreciate it if you left me out of your get togethers from now on!"_

" _What the hell Sayuri!" Naruto started eyes narrowed at the brunette. "You're just as part of Team Seven as the rest of us! So why don't you tell us why you're really angry!"_

" _Excuse me…"_

" _What!?" the two feuding ninja turned to an older man peeking out behind his apartment door._

" _W-We're…" He took a second to steel himself. "We're trying to sleep. P-Please could you perhaps take your fight somewhere else."_

" _Oh of course!" Sakura faked a smile. "We were just leaving…right guys." She turned to the two actively glaring daggers at each other. "Naruto…Sayuri…" she said through gritted teeth trying to keep her own annoyance at bay._

" _I'm getting the hell out of here. Enjoy your team bonding." The brunette leapt over the railing landing on her feet and stalked off. In the distance she could hear Sakura quietly scolding Naruto but she really couldn't care less. She was livid. How could he just up and leave like that?!_

 _It's not like he owed you any explanation_. You made it clear that you didn't want anything from him _. She stopped in her tracks watching a street light flicker. "So then…why do I feel so terrible?" she asked herself._

Fear

"Woah hold on!" a man yelled as he was slammed against the wall. Three ANBU loomed over him, and he could have sworn that the one on the right had glowing red eyes.

"You're Tomoya Kisa, right?" the one in the middle spoke. Tomoya's black eyes shifted from one ninja to the other. He turned to his right but a katana suddenly struck the wall just a few centimeters from his nose.

"Don't. Try. Me."

Tomoya gulped and sat back. "Yeah…That's me. Listen if this is about me defecting, I promise I haven't done anything bad."

"I don't believe you." One of them leaned down, crow mask covering his face. He pulled out a piece of paper and held it up for him to see. "Especially if you're working for him." Tomoya's eyes widened at the picture of Naoki. "You know where he is. Tell us."

"I-I don't know! He always contacts me. I never contact him!" He almost screamed when the man's katana pressed against his neck.

"You'll have to do better than that." The man in the middle leaned down, rooster mask peeking out from his hood. "We got a lead and they told us that you two are associated. I suggest you start talking. Karasu here isn't very patient."

"No…I-I promise I don't really know. He's always moving around. He never stays in one spot for more than a couple of days."

"Take a guess." The man known as Karasu ordered.

Tomoya gulped. "I-I heard that he was in the outskirts of Lightning. I only did a couple jobs for him I promise!"

"And those would be…?" the one wearing the dog mask asked with a wave of his gloved hand.

"I-I…" he glanced down at the katana pressed against his neck. "Would you please…?"

Karasu huffed and pulled back enough to give him room to breathe. "Talk."

"Yes! I uh, gathered weapons for them on my first job. The second one he wanted me to deliver a package to a tall bald man I never got his name. The last job I-I lured a woman out in to the woods." He yelped when the katana pressed against his neck once again, the stinging sensation scaring him.

"And what happened with her?"

"I don't know! I was just given a paper that told me where to take her, that's all!"

"How many times did he give you _that_ particular order?" Tomoya looked up at the man with the dog mask.

"Uh…"

"I'd answer truthfully if I were you." Said the man with the rooster mask darkly.

"Two times."

The three ninja glanced at each other, then Karasu spoke again. "When was the last time you did a job for him?"

"Last week. He-He sent a messenger told me to scout a village by the Hidden Cloud."

"Did he want something in particular?"

"He wanted me to investigate a woman."

"He told you who?"

"He sent me a picture."

"He's at it again." Their attention turned to Karasu for a short moment before Tomoya was yanked to his feet and slammed against the wall by the man in the Rooster mask.

"You said he sent a messenger correct?" Tomoya gulped and nodded. "Karasu." He nodded to the man who stepped forward lifting his mask. A gasp died in his lips at the sight of the infamous Sharingan comma marks spinning rapidly around the black iris.

XXX

"Come on Sayuri!" the girls cheered when she landed a blow on Lee.

"You can do it Sensei!" a couple of the boys yelled.

Behind the group of students was Tenten shaking her head at a loss of what to do. Their sparring matches always turned into a spectacle for the children. She supposed it couldn't be helped, Sayuri had been training with them nonstop for two weeks now, and even with the added weights she was getting faster. A loud yelp coming from the Marihasha made her flinch as the girl was kicked in the abdomen. Tenten watched how instead of falling back the girl landed on a handstand, pushing off of her hands in Lee's direction fists pulled back. Lee however caught her by the wrist just as she was about to punch him and, using her momentum, slammed her unto the ground.

"OK!" Tenten clapped her hands the two ninja in the middle of the field turned their heads to the woman. "I think it's time for a break."

Lee pulled Sayuri up a little too fast and was quick to catch her when she stumbled. "You have improved spectacularly, Sayuri!"

Holding her head the young woman smiled. "Thank you Lee-sensei." The young man laughed having given up on telling her to just call him Lee. The children seemed to love the idea that a ninja like Sayuri considered herself their equal and it only helped to motivate them more so it wasn't all bad.

"Sayuri, can you help me with my punches?" one of the girls that swarmed around her asked. Smiling, Sayuri was about to answer when she looked up at the sky. The rest of them followed suit, eyes on the eagle that flew in circles. Stretching her arm out the bird landed to rest as the heiress took the piece of paper tied to its leg.

"Sayuri?" Tenten was the first to ask watching the girls calm face turn into a frown.

"I have to go." She bowed to Lee. "Sorry, but I'll have to cut training short today."

"Not a problem." The man smiled and waved her off.

She sprinted back to the village taking to the rooftops as soon as she hit the center. Moriyo had sent for her only telling her to go to the South gate, but nothing more. The closer she got the more nervous she became. In order to get there, you had to go through a forested area and that was something she was not comfortable with doing on her own. She landed at the beginning of the trail and felt her throat go dry. It was then that she remembered that the times she had been in the forest she had always had company. This time...her ears began to ring as she made herself walk forward. The wind rustled the branches and she felt herself break into a cold sweat, the pounding in her head getting stronger the further in she went.

A twig snapped and her blood ran cold, she stumbled back until she hit something solid and she spun around, fist drawn back only for it to meet bark. Sayuri hissed as she drew her hand to her chest. She began feeling lightheaded when she realized she wasn't breathing properly. Squeezing her eyes shut she willed herself to slow her breathing down.

"It's nothing. You're not there. You're in the village. You're-" a woman's screams made her pause and she looked around. The scream came again, and she felt the trees closing in on her when she recognized who it belonged to. "Aunt…Kaminari…?" she whispered. "I need to get out!" She looked around her again trying to find the trail. "I need to get out…" she told herself and began walking, feeling her heart in her throat with each step. _It's all in my head…It's all in my head…_

"Sayuri?" Moriyo's voice broke through her mental fog. The woman's bright orange eyes settled on her in surprise. "What are you doing here?" The younger woman looked around, realizing-in relief-that she'd gotten out into the clearing of the gate.

"What am I doing here?" she repeated the words sinking in. "You asked me to come!"

Moriyo's brows rose in shock. "Are you alright?"

"N-Yes!" Sayuri took a deep breath. "Yes." She repeated calmly.

Moriyo remained quite observing Sayuri's stiff posture before replying. "What do you mean I asked you to come?" She asked slowly waiting for another outburst.

The young woman pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to her. Taking it, her eyes lingered on Sayuri for a second before turning to the paper. "What…? I didn't send this."

"Your eagle gave it me."

"That's not possible."

Sayuri frowned and looked at the gate. Two other ANBU in full gear stood beside a covered body. Eyes widening, she ran to the ninja stopping only when she saw black hair peeking out of the top. She felt her heart skip a beat in fear. _Sasuke!_ She pulled the sheet off and nearly sighed in relief. It wasn't the Uchiha, but…

"What…the hell is this?" Sayuri asked turning her mismatched eyes on the ANBU head.

"A warning." The ANBU gathered around the body, face burned off and mutilated, his tattoo covered by a glaring 'X' carved into his arm. "Let's get him to the hospital and figure out who he is before we bury him." Moriyo instructed the team. The ninja nodded and knelt down by the body and began to pick it up when the sound of metal cutting air caught their attention. One of the men was struck in the back of the head while the others moved out of the way just in time. Sayuri back flipped avoiding several kunai only for her back to collide with a tree. Eyes widened at the sight of a line of kunai heading straight for her before she dove out of the way.

"Head for the trees!" Moriyo ordered. Acting on autopilot, Sayuri pushed herself up and rushed into the forest losing track of the other ninja in the process. She landed on a tree branch when her hand met the smooth texture of a paper bomb.

Gasping she moved out of the way as the branch exploded, the force of it pushing her further out causing her to miss another branch letting her fall to ground hard. She cried out in pain, sitting up to hold her shoulder. Her fingers grazed the injured area and she hissed. Pushing herself up unto her feet when she finally noticed that no one was with her the panic slowly sinking into the pit of her stomach.

"Moriyo!" she called, turning in place trying to find her former sensei. "Moriyo!" she called again, voice raising an octave.

"I found you." Her breath caught at the sound of the sing song voice.

XXX

"What are they? Triplets?" a blonde man in his mid-twenties with sharp purple eyes shifted from one man to the next all of them looked the same with exception of their eyes on had brown, the other green and the last blue. It had taken two weeks but the messenger finally came with a new mission for Tomoya.

"They work with me." Tomoya answered smoothly. "They're from Hidden Grass, they want in with Naoki."

The blonde frowned. "Naoki doesn't let other people do his recruiting."

"Trust me, they're amazing!" Tomoya waved his hands in the air in a grand gesture. "When Naoki sees them in action he'll want to take them."

 _He's not buying it…_ Hajime's voice echoed in their heads at the three young men stood stock still behind Tomoya.

 _You don't know that._ Diachi replied trying his best not fidget as the blonde man approached them.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the messenger the closer he got to him. _He won't need to buy it._ The blonde man stood directly in front of him when his arm reached out to keep him in place as his Sharingan bled through the transformation jutsu.

Hajime and Diachi looked around them keeping watch around the dark forest. The night only made the red of the Sharingan stand out even more than was necessary. They watched the blonde man slump in a trance like state, while Tomoya stood frozen looking at nothing but the trees in front of him.

"Now, what's your name?"

"Itsuo."

"Good, you're going to take us to Naoki."

"Right." Itsuo replied and began to weave a couple of hand signs. "Please hold on to me."

"So he didn't come here by conventional means…interesting." Diachi muttered as he placed hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Wait!" Hajime called. "What about this guy?" He pointed to Tomoya who stood rooted to the same spot.

"Walk back to the village and turn yourself in."

The two ANBU watched in awe as the man robotically began walking. Their eyes shifted to the Uchiha who silently placed his hand on the messengers back.

"And here I thought the sharingan was only good for copying moves." Hajime grumbled. As soon as they all were holding on to Itsuo they felt a sharp tug from the reverse summoning. The four men landed in a thick forest area, eyes darting anywhere trying to get a hold of their location.

"Itsuo where are we?"

"Lightning Country."

"So much for avoiding the Raikage…" Sasuke and Diachi turned to Hajime who shrugged. "What?"

Diachi sighed. "Let's get moving."

XXX

"Sayuri…" she felt a hand on her shoulder and a sharp smell cutting through the haze. "Sayuri, it's Sakura. You need to wake up now." She groaned but opened her eyes only to squeeze them shut at the sight of the bright hospital lights. "There you go..."

"Sakura?"

"It's alright, you're at the hospital. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I…was with Moriyo-sensei." She sat up and held her head. "What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to find out. Moriyo told me that you've had trouble sleeping after the war."

Sayuri turned to the pink haired medic. "It's nothing. I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Moriyo-sensei also said she found you throwing kunai and screaming at someone to get away from you before you fainted."

"I'm just sleep deprived."

"Sayuri," Sakura sighed. "You just told me it was nothing…Look, I know we're not exactly close, but, I've known you long enough to tell when something isn't right with you. You do know that several ninja developed PTSD after the war. It's nothing to be ashamed of-"

"I don't have PTSD." Sayuri cut her off, sliding out of the bed. "I'm fine. I just need more sleep, that's all." She turned to leave but Sakura was faster, gabbing her by the arm.

"I know I can't force you to do anything, but…" she pulled a card out of her pocket and pressed it against her palm, folding her fingers over it. "When you feel ready to get help you can go here." Sayuri stepped back holding the card in her hand.

"Right. Thank you." The auburn haired girl answered and headed to the door but paused when she opened it. "You're a good person, Sakura." She said over her shoulder surprising the medic who smiled kindly at the young woman. Once outside Sayuri allowed herself to look at the card. "Mental Health Clinic…" she shook her head and pocketed the card. She knew she needed help, but she wasn't willing to put her career on hold just for a few therapy sessions. There were more important things for her to do.

XXX

Itsuo laid unconscious behind the three young men whose attention was on the hidden cave on the side of the mountain.

"It's not heavily guarded." Said Hajime eyes on the sole guard at the front.

"He probably thinks no one is smart enough to find where he is." Sasuke replied, casting a glance up at the darkening sky. The sun was about to set and it was about time they got a move on. "We'll be going in blind, considering Itsuo has no knowledge of the layout but the mission remains the same. Take out whoever gets in the way and eliminate Naoki."

"Easy!" Hajime joked.

Diachi nodded. "He's priority."

"Let's go."

The three ninja quickly scattered, taking out the guard at the entrance. The man's body barely hit the ground when they rushed in. Noticing the marble floor, they muffled their footsteps with their chakra as they went through the hideout. The three sliding to halt at a fork.

"You two go ahead, I'll take out whoever comes through here." Diachi ordered. Sasuke moved quickly down the passage on the left while Hajime went through the right. Diachi took a deep breath and slowly released it, crouching down low to help propel him upward, flipping over so that his feet met and stuck to the darkened roof of the cave.

XXX

Sayuri stared down at the purple scroll in the middle of her kitchen table. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she struggled to figure out the best thing to do. Finally, after ten minutes of indecisiveness she snatched the scroll and opened it only to let go immediately at the sound of the loud pop. She stepped back as the smoke cleared revealing a small purple snake.

"How can I be of assistance?"

Sayuri blinked at the summoned reptile on her table and forced herself not to cringe. "C-can you get in contact with Orochimaru?"

"Yes."

Sayuri inhaled sharply. When Orochimaru took her and Sasuke to his hideout during the war and gave her that scroll she never thought she'd actually use it. She had actually laughed at the audacity of it. But now... _There's a first time for everything…even for asking the snake for help._

"I need you to give this to him, tell him that I…" she hesitated. "That I need him to check and see if he recognizes any of this writing." She held a roll up white paper. "Tell him that it's for a sealing jutsu."

"Is that all?" it sounded bored, forked tongue slipping out between words.

"Yes."

"Give it here." It opened its mouth and she bit her lip to keep from cringing as she placed the rolled note in in its mouth. "I will give it to him immediately." And with that the summoning was gone.

"I hope I didn't just make things worse…" she mumbled to herself and almost screamed at the knocking on her door. She froze in place then realizing that the person on the other side of the door couldn't see her so she let her shoulders slump in relief.

"Sayuri?"

"Naruto?" she wondered. After what she said a couple of weeks ago, the last person she'd expect to be at her door was the blonde hero.

"Open up. I know you're in there! I can sense you!"

"Damn." He might not be able to see through walls but the sage technique he's mastered and perfected is just as annoying. Neji came to mind at that thought and she grimaced. "Sorry, Neji." She whispered to herself and walked to the door.

"Sayuri!" the blonde stepped back, tilting his head to the side. "Hey…"

"Hi." She shuffled her bare feet feeling the cold winter air enter her home.

"Sakura told me what happened."

"Isn't there such as thing as patient-provider confidentiality anymore?" she hissed exasperated.

"She's just worried about you." Naruto tried to calm her. "I am too…Even though you don't seem to care about us anymore we still care about you."

Sayuri gripped the door knob tighter. "It's not that I don't care about you…It's just…" Naruto waited patiently. "It's just things aren't the same. We're not children anymore."

"Sayuri…" he placed a hand on her shoulder. "We get it. But it doesn't hurt anyone to try and be…you know civil with each other."

She quickly shoved the thought of her and Sasuke in the cabin to the back of her mind. "…Right."

"There's something else…" Naruto pulled from his pouch. "Kakashi-sensei told me to give this to you. He said something about them possibly being able to help and that we could go as soon as we were ready." Frowning, Sayuri took the tan scroll and opened it reading its contents. "What's it say?"

"You didn't sneak a peek already?" she raised a brow at the blonde who flushed red.

"I'm not a kid anymore!" he crossed his arms over his chest, pouting off to the side.

Sayuri chuckled, and shook her head. "They think the Marihasha Temple could have information on the sealing."

"Your clan had a temple?!"

"Yes…"

"That's great! Maybe they can help decipher the sealing and reverse it!" the blonde grinned.

"There's just the issue of me getting there."

Naruto's smile fell. "Oh…" He watched Sayuri's hand wrinkle the scroll. He felt terrible, the war might have been won but it cost several people their lives, as well as their psychological wellbeing. _There has to be a way around this!_ He paused at that thought. "I think I got an idea!" he exclaimed taking her by the shoulders, startling the younger woman. "Meet me tomorrow at the main gate, 8 am sharp!"

"What…but-"

"Gotta go!" and with that the blonde vanished in cloud of smoke.

Her eyes trailed back to the scroll in her hands. "The Marihasha Temple..." she let out a frustrated laugh. "And here I am asking Orochimaru for help."

XXX

Sasuke stood at the center of the bodies of fallen ninja. Their pained groans filled the room, leaving one wide eyed ninja.

Naoki smirked. "ANBU huh…I must have messed up real bad to have Konoha after me. Whatever it is they pay you, I can double it!"

"That won't work on me." He approached the ninja. "You targeted the wrong person."

The man laughed. "And who would that be? I've been all over and I honestly can't remember."

Sasuke growled, appearing before the man in a blink of an eye. Naoki's eyes widened a slow wide grin on his face. "Mr. Uchiha!" he choked the minute he was slammed against the wall, his hands coming up to grip at the arm pinning his throat. "Does this mean…she's dead…"

"No," he added more pressure and watched the man squirm. "But you will be."

"Karasu!" Hajime called as he ran into the room. He paused at the sight of the unconscious men, a dull thud drawing his attention to the fallen rogue on the ground. "Did you…?"

"That was my mission." The silver haired ninja watched the Uchiha quietly walk past him.

He turned back to the body and sighed. He made his way to it, stepping over the uncurious men on the ground and took out a scroll. "And this is mine." He mumbled sealing the body into the scroll. _I really didn't think he'd go through with it._ The silver haired ninja thought as he stood up and tucked the scroll into his pouch. _Well…_ he stared at the men. _He didn't eliminate anyone unnecessary…that's something._ The echo of his footsteps was all he heard as he sprinted back to the main entrance. Diachi and Sasuke were already outside, the later with a hawk on his arm.

"We're letting the Raikage know about this place." His friend explained. "We figured it'd be better to let them handle the rest."

"Well, we all got what we came for." Hajime stretched his arms over his head. "Let's head home."

"No." the two ninja turned to Sasuke. "We need to make one stop before we go." Hajime and Diachi turned to each other in confusion.

"Where to?"

 **A.N.**

 **Just in case someone needs it to be cleared up. They found Tomoya two weeks before the Sayuri incident happened. And while they were infiltrating Naoki's base Sayuri's whole ordeal was happening, these two events were going on at the same time. Just a small tidbit in case it confused anyone. We're about to start moving things up for these two. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Please review :)**


	17. Answers

**A.N.**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Answers

"Sai?" Sayuri blinked up at the artist.

He smiled, "Sayuri, you're here on time. That's a surprise."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the dark haired man who laughed nervously. "Where's Naruto?"

"Right here!" he announced as he landed behind the konoichi. "Sayuri," he placed a hand on her shoulder grinning at the artist. "He's our way around the forest."

"What?"

"Naruto told me that your condition prevents you from keeping up with us while in the forest. So…" he pulled out a scroll and quickly drew on it summoning the drawing as soon as it was done. Two large hawks peeled off the scroll peering down at them. "He figured we'd fly."

"Just lead the way!" Naruto grinned.

XXX

Their cloaks fluttered as they landed on the cool grass, around them, nothing but trees. The winter hadn't hit this region too hard.

"What is this place?" Hajime asked as he looked around nudging over to Diachi when he spotted a puddle.

"Well, will you look at that!" Hajime and Diachi immediately assumed defensive stances at the sound of the voice. "If it isn't a couple of wondering ANBU…and Sasuke Uchiha." The sly voice said.

Sasuke pulled off his mask. "Suigetsu."

"Sasuke?" a tall man with orange hair emerged from the cave. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah," Diachi watched a man emerge from the small puddle. "What the hell do you want."

"I need to speak to Orochimaru."

"Wait…" "What?!" Diachi and Hajime turned to Sasuke in disbelief.

The white haired man smirked. "Looks like your friends aren't too thrilled about that idea."

"Is he here or not."

"He's here." Juugo answered. "This way." He gestured and began leading the way.

"Pft…" Suigetsu shrugged. "Well, what about you two? Ya goin' to freeze your asses off out here or what?"

XXX

Sayuri held on to the blonde as they glided in the air. "What exactly did you tell him?"

"Who? Sai?"

"No, the bird."

Naruto made a face. "You're not being nice." He complained but chuckled at the brunette when his puppy dog eyes didn't face her. "Only what everyone already knows. Nothing about…" he glanced down at the sea of green bellow them.

She hummed and looked up suddenly as if she spotted something. "We're almost there."

Naruto looked over his shoulder to the auburn haired girl. "How do you know?"

"I can feel it."

"There's something up ahead!" Said Sai, pointing to their left. A tall tower poked up from the sea of trees just a few kilometers away.

"That's it." Sayuri said, raising her voice enough for Sai to hear her.

"Alright! Let's get moving!" said Naruto as the bird dove down then propelled upwards gaining speed from the wind in the area. The closer they got the more they could see a clearing.

"We should land there." Sayuri pointed at a small clearing not too far ahead.

Naruto cupped a hand over his face and turned to her. "Are you sure? That's still part of the forest."

"It's not like I'll die."

Naruto chuckled. "No. I guess not." The birds descended unto the small clearing disappearing into a puddle of ink as soon as the three ninja got off.

"So that's the temple…" Sai rubbed his chin as he looked up at the stairs leading up to it. He smiled at Sayuri's curious gaze. "Danzo used to talk about wanting to coming here. Obviously not for anything good, he just never got around to doing so."

"Danzo?" Naruto asked. "What did that old geezer want with this place?"

Sai shrugged. "He never divulged that information…well at least not to me."

The two men followed Sayuri up the stairs coming to a halt when they reached the top. A purple haired man stood calmly by the entrance hands at his sides.

"Lady Sayuri." He greeted with a small bow. "It's been a while…" sharp silver eyes turned to the two ninja behind her. "And you've brought friends."

"You know this guy, Sayuri?" Naruto asked, looking at the older man suspiciously.

"Takeo, it's good to see you again." Sayuri smiled then turned to the blonde. "He's a monk."

"We've been expecting you, the Hokage told us that you need our help."

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto stepped forward, pulling out a slip of paper from his pocket. "Here. We wanted information on this jutsu."

The man frowned looking over the writing. "This doesn't look like anything I've seen before…Come." He gestured for the group to follow. "I'm not the only person here. The archive keeper might have a better idea."

Sayuri allowed herself to look around the temple. Several buildings that she remembered being there were gone. The whole temple itself was well kept, but it no longer looked as lively as it once did. They entered the tower at the center, some of the connecting bridges remained others were missing. The doors creaked when they opened.

"This is where we keep all of our books, and scrolls. If there is something to be known about these writings we might find them here."

The three were led into a large room, decorated in books and scrolls from wall to wall. Smaller shelves were further back, some had doors with locks on them others did not. In the center was a large table with a lamp on it every other seat. An older man came out from between the selves holding a scroll when he noticed the four people at the entrance.

"Takeo?" the man asked. "Who are these people?"

"Master Yamada," the purple haired man stepped aside letting the man get a look at Sayuri. "We have a guest."

The man frowned, and slowly made his way over to them. "I'd recognize that hair anywhere, this cannot be Lady Nagisa's ghost." The three ninja's smiles faltered at the comment.

"Master Yamada, where are your glasses?" Takeo sighed, shaking his head at the old man.

"Oh! That's right." He carefully pulled out the pair and put them on, eyes widening when Sayuri's silhouette cleared. "You're not Lady Nagisa…you look awfully like her."

"Master, this is Lady Sayuri."

"I know who she is, Takeo, do not patronize me!" the man snapped then turned back to the young woman. "Lady Sayuri," he bowed. Behind her Sai sweat dropped keeping a strained smile while Naruto tried and failed, to stifle his laughter. "And who are these men?"

"They are my companions."

"Master, Lady Sayuri needs help finding information on a seal."

"A seal you say? Let me see." Takeo handed the slip of paper to the old man who adjusted his glasses and scanned the writing.

"This looks familiar…" he turned around and shuffled to one of the shelves, the others fast on his trail, pulling out a set of jingling keys. His hands shook as he tried, and failed, to insert the keys into the lock. "Takeo, make yourself useful and open this lock."

Takeo laughed and shook his head. "Yes, Master." The lock clicked when it unlocked and he pulled the door open, stepping aside so the man could move forward, hands forming the seals of the dragon, ox, horse, and tiger his chakra triggering the last door to slide open on its own.

"This is an old sealing justsu, if I remembered correctly it had been used sometime after the Sage of Six Paths passed." He picked one scroll after another. "But…" he pulled out one particularly large scroll with a grunt at the exertion.

"Here, I'll help." Naruto offered but Yamada snatched away his balance threatening to let the old man fall back.

"No!" he turned and began to shuffle to the table. "Young people don't think I can do this myself…" he grumbled as he set the scroll down.

"Is he always like that?" Naruto asked Takeo who laughed nervously scratching his head.

"We only have a fraction of information on the jutsu in this scroll." The older man explained as he pulled the scroll open searching for what they needed. "Here…" he pointed, stepping away from the group. "Takeo come read this."

"Right." The purple haired man quickly got to work. "It's called the Seven Chakra Marking, it's supposed to mark and seal all chakra points."

"Mark…" Sayuri hummed. "That's what Naoki said he was going to do to me."

"This was done to you?" Yamada asked. "How is that possible!?"

"Master?" they watched as the man shuffled to the back of the room muttering to himself. Frowning the purple haired man turned back to the scroll. "There's not much on it…it's supposed to be a forbidden sealing jutsu and something about a summon…Marishi-Ten?"

XXX

"Ah, Sasuke it's a pleasure seeing you again." Orochimaru smiled at the frowning Uchiha.

"This isn't a curtesy visit. I need you to look into something."

"Yes, well I didn't expect anything less from you." The snake like man turned to his cluttered desk. "However if you are here about the sealing performed on little Sayuri-" the man didn't even flinch when Sasuke roughly, spun him around.

"How did you know?"

Orochimaru smiled, raising his hands in a pacifying manner. "Temper, Sasuke."

"If I find out you had something to do with this-"

"Oh, believe me that was none of my doing. As a matter of fact, Sayuri contacted me." At Sasuke's confusion, Orochimaru continued. "During our meeting in Konoha right before we headed for the war, I gave her a scroll…" Sasuke's grip on the man loosened, recalling Orochimaru wanting to meet with her after the Kage had left. "...A way to contact me, as a…thank you for storing all that chakra for me." The man chuckled.

"She what?" Hajime began.

"She didn't know." The Uchiha replied. "It was from the wound he inflicted on her during the chunin exams." He glared at the man, pulling away from him.

"Yes, well…" he picked up a slip of paper. "She sent me this. Quite an interesting forbidden jutsu, but a rather dangerous one." He turned and handed Sasuke a bright red scroll, the Marihasha clan symbol on the back of it.

"You stole this."

Orochimaru shrugged, "Only because I was interested. Except that I never could find the last piece, I figured one of the old geezers at the temple hid it."

"Last piece?" Diachi asked, reading over Sasuke's shoulder. "Marishi-Ten…?"

"This jutsu is used in combination with a summoning jutsu when the correct chakra and the correct vessel are gathered. To summon Marishi-Ten, apart from not finding the final piece that summon is why I was…hesitant to use it."

Sasuke looked up from the scroll. "What piece are you missing?"

"The conduit."

XXX

"Marishi-Ten…" Yamada began, placing a black marble box on the table. "A deity of war." He brought his shaking hands together to form the seal of the boar, gradually his thumbs began to glow light blue as his chakra pooled to them. He placed both thumbs at either side of the box, all four watching in awe as the black marble slowly turned white. "But you can't perform that jutsu on its own, in order for it to work you need the Black Lotus." He opened the box, falling silent.

"What is it old man?" Naruto asked growing impatient.

"It's gone."

XXX

"A black lotus?"

"No. _The_ Black Lotus." Orochimaru pointed at the drawing on the bottom of the scroll. "The Marihasha had been safe guarding this technique for years. There are still missing pieces to what makes the jutsu work, this is the only scroll that I found on the sealing that wasn't locked away in one of those blasted drawers."

Hajime crossed his arms. "Like a drawer would have stopped you from getting it."

"They're rigged. Only the keepers of the library know the seals to open them."

XXX

"The only way the jutsu can work is if it's used in conjunction with The Black Lotus as a conduit and chakra storage. The Marihasha had the artifact for years, and it's gone along with its companion scroll."

"Could someone have moved it?" Sai asked.

Yamada shook his head. "Whoever is using this jutsu doesn't know what he's dealing with."

"What do you mean?" Sayuri asked.

"This jutsu summons a being not from our world." He shut the marble box, the black bleeding into the white color until it was completely gone. "If the jutsu does what I believe it does, we are all in danger."

"What are you talking about? What danger?"

"Naruto!" Sayuri hissed.

Yamada inhaled slowly and locked eyes with the blonde. "Marishi-Ten was a being sealed away using that jutsu, the seal was never mean to be reversed and if that seal is broken…" he unraveled the larger scroll and pointed to a drawing of a woman with six arms each holding a sword. "There will be war and destruction and there is no way to stop it."

"That's not..." Sayuri started.

"I think what she wants to say is that if this…woman or being was sealed once it can be done again." Sai finished for her.

"If the scroll for the seal is found, yes, unfortunately it was lost along with several other documents and jutsus when the temple was attacked 16 years ago. What you see here," Yamada gestured around him. "Is what we could salvage from the wreckage."

"You said it marks chakra points, does that mean it's supposed to kill as well?" Sayuri asked Yamada.

"It only kills if chakra was all they were after, and if the person is not compatible."

"Compatible for what?"

Yamada tapped the scroll. "This jutsu summons Marishi-Ten, it needs a vessel and the right chakra. The vessel needs to be compatible, but in order to do that the vessel needs to survive and their chakra completely sealed and depleted."

"Master, if what you say is true then, Lady Sayuri-"

"No, Takeo, Lady Sayuri's chakra was sealed but not depleted if that had been the case, she would not be walking much less talking. I believe the marking was interrupted just before it was completed." Sayuri released air she didn't realize she was holding, a wave of relief passing over her, she could almost feel all of her muscles relax at the news.

XXX

"Can a sealing be reversed?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't have enough information to answer that." Sighed the Sanin. "That scroll has all the information I know about the jutsu at the moment. I do plan on doing a bit of research into it." He smiled an action that caused a shiver to run down the spines of the Uchiha's two companions. "In any case I'm theorizing that you need the Black Lotus in order to reverse it…if that's even possible."

"And you don't have it."

"Correct."

"How do we know you're not lying to us?" They turned to Hajime who glared at the white skinned man. "It's not like you're the most trustworthy person we know."

Orochimaru chuckled. "While that is true, what reason would I have to try and use this jutsu now? It would take too much preparation, I still don't know what kind of chakra is needed and what kind of person can be used as a vessel. And in either case, I happen to like this stage of my life. It may not seem like it to you, but it is rather peaceful…to me at least and I don't plan on getting in any trouble…at the moment." He finished with a shrug of the shoulders. "Besides, who ever took that artifact took it a long time ago."

XXX

Sayuri reached into her pouch pulling out a Bingo book, flipping through the pages until she found the right one and flipped the book over to Takeo. "Did this man come to the temple on his own at any time?"

The man's eyes widened. "Yes, but it's been some time…" he then looked at her in confusion. "…Why is Kenji in your bingo book?"

"During the war we found out he was working for Obito."

"Obito…?"

"Tobi."

"The man who attacked the temple?!" Takeo exclaimed, taken aback.

"He wasn't in a right state of mind." Said Naruto, eyes downcast.

Sai crossed his arms, eyes still on the scroll before them. "Did he have access to this library or the original one at any point during his visit here?"

Takeo looked down for a moment then turned to Yamada. "It was some time before the attack, it was when Master Yamada had found that Master Ren, the original keeper, had passed away."

"Yes, he had died in his sleep." Yamada nodded, recalling that day.

"Master Ren had keys and access to the scrolls before he passed. The day he died was the same day Kenji arrived to visit."

Yamada pulled one of the chairs out and sat. "Do you think this young man _killed_ Ren?"

Sayuri clenched her fists. "It's very possible."

XXX

Naruto looked over his shoulder to Sayuri. She had been quiet since they left the temple, hardly saying a word besides offering her thanks to the two monks. Frowning, he turned back to what was in front of him. A sea of green and a darkening sky as the sun began to set was what he tried to focus on before his thoughts went back to the deity.

They just couldn't seem to catch a break, could they? First its Kaguya, now they may have another possible being that could destroy the peace they've worked so hard to obtain?! He'd have to go tell Kakashi what they found. They need to stop that summoning of this Mari-ten or whatever before it was too late. At least the monks let them take the scroll with them. His blue eyes slid to Sai's back where the scroll currently was. Maybe someone back in the village could make heads or tails of this.

 **A.N.**

 **Thank you for reading. Please review, tell me what you think :)**


	18. Nightmare

**A.N.**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Nightmare

"You called?" Kakashi didn't even jump when Moriyo landed behind him. He watched village bellow the Hokage monument. With everyone working together it was thriving more than ever and he was proud. His former teammate stepped up next to him, eyes on him.

"Naruto, Sayuri, and Sai returned from the temple last night." When she didn't make a sound, he turned to her. "They found something strange."

"…Well don't keep me in suspense Scarecrow."

"They think that Kenji wants to summon a being called Marishi-Ten."

Moriyo's brow furrowed. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Because Kaminari had mentioned it once. Marishi-Ten brought destruction and war to our world, and her ancestors just barely managed to seal it away." He watched as the dark-haired woman's eyes slowly widened.

"Oh...oh no…"

"My thoughts exactly."

"A few months before she died…she was doing an investigation on the ROOT…"

"She found a man on the border trying to plant bombs at the southern entrance, and they had mentioned that name." Kakashi nodded pulling out folder containing Kaminari's findings. "Danzo knew about that being and she kept looking for answers even after the investigation was stopped."

"That might have been why he had her killed before the rest of the clan. She knew something."

"Or she was getting close to knowing."

"And Kenji fits in this how?"

"Because if Danzo knew then Obito knew too, and since Kenji was working _with_ Obito the entire time…" Moriyo's fists clenched over the folder wrinkling it in the process. "How's _your_ investigation going?"

"Not great. I thought if I got Sayuri out of the ANBU it'd go a lot smoother but everything in the organization seemed to calm down after that. And then we had that little stunt at the South Gate, someone _lured_ her there, they wanted her to be there. That damn mole is hiding so well I'm not even sure if I can find them before they do anything else."

"You're doing what you can."

"Yes, well now you're basically a sitting duck. You've got no security detail _because_ of this and I can't guard you while I'm investigating my own organization."

Kakashi chuckled. "Well I wouldn't really consider myself a sitting duck. Despite what you may think sitting behind that desk every day hasn't made me weak."

"So you say."

All these years and she still liked picking on him. Kakashi smirked behind his mask, it was nice to know that even after everything that happened she remained herself. "How about this, after their mission Diachi and Hajime can be assigned to me. Which reminds me any word from them?"

"They're due to arrive today. They got Naoki."

"Well at least that's some good news."

XXX

"Ah!" Sayuri landed on her back for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Lee placed his hands on his hips, slight frown on his normally joyous face. She hissed and hit the cool grass with her hand in frustration.

"Sayuri, what's the matter? You've been very distracted these past two days." Asked Lee, handing her a bottle of water.

The auburn haired ninja, looked off to the side. Most of the children were with TenTen practicing their weapons skills, although some were doing it halfheartedly watching the two older ninja train. She cleared her throat and the few that were distracted immediately went back to work, pretending-and failing-that nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry, Lee-sensei." She bowed her head. "I'm just…" she rand a hand through her hair in frustration. "I should be paying more attention. I'm sorry."

Lee took a seat next to her, eying the ninja carefully. "If Neji were here…" he cupped his chin, looking up at the sky. "He'd say: 'Sayuri you need more concentration and you need more sleep'" he wagged his finger as he imitated their late friend's stern tone of voice.

Sayuri smiled. "No he'd say: 'Your form is terrible, blah blah blah! You haven't slept well I can tell, and you need to stop thinking of whatever it is that's bothering you and concentrate on this match!'" she finished trying to make her voice as low as possible and doing her best annoyed Neji face, which ended up looking like she was smelling something awful. Lee on the other hand laughed at her horrible attempt.

"What are you two doing?" The two froze at the sound of Tenten's voice right behind them.

"Nothing." They answered in unison.

The weapon's mistress smiled. "Riiight." She took a seat on the other side of the green clad man. "And Neji would say 'Stop making fun of me, and get to work you two!'"

"We were working." Lee replied.

"I'm just a mess." Sayuri added.

Tenten nodded. "That you are."

"Hey!" the younger konoichi turned to Tenten offended. "Aren't you supposed to reassure me?"

"What? Are we not still pretending to be Neji?" Lee laughed and Sayuri sighed. "I sent the kids home. It's getting late and they were more concentrated on you two than on the actual lesson."

"Sorry, Tenten." Lee apologized she however shook her head.

"Nah, it's ok, to be honest I wasn't any better." Light brown eyes turned to Sayuri. "What's bothering you? You were all over the place today."

"Is it your chakra again?" Lee asked, round eyes on her as well.

"No…" She shook her head and pushed herself up. "I'll figure this out. I'm ready for another round." She smiled and the two ninja on the ground glanced at each other.

"How about a little change of pace." Tenten proposed watching as the auburn ninja's smile faltered.

"A what?"

XXX

"There it is!" Hajime exclaimed as Konoha's north gate came into view. "Home sweet home!"

Sasuke and Diachi fell slightly behind the silver haired ninja. It was evening and the weather was cooling down, all of them were eager to get home, but knew they'd have to do a mission report as soon as they met with their superior.

The guards at the gate greeted them, and for the first time Sasuke didn't have to worry about the wary look on their faces because behind his ANBU mask they had no idea who he was, and somehow he preferred it that way. Helping the village from the shadows. He looked around him watching the villagers go about their evening as they usually did, for the most part ignoring the three as they walked by. Not being in the forefront of every ones attention brought on a sense of calm. He found himself at ease, and he didn't know whether that was a good or bad feeling.

"One of us will need to report to the Hokage." Said Diachi.

"I'll do it." Sasuke offered as they neared the building. The two ninja shrugged, Diachi handing a scroll with the mission summary to the Uchiha before leaping off towards their headquarters and he turned his attention to the entrance. Soon enough he found himself in front of Kakashi's door and knocked. A muffled come in was all he got before he pushed the wooden door open. His former teacher glanced up from his paper work and sat back. Lacing his fingers together waiting on the Uchiha.

Sasuke placed the small scroll before the Hokage and lifted his hand to remove the mask. "Don't." the silver haired man said. "Security reasons." Frowning, Sasuke dropped his hand to his side. He watched as the man carefully read over the summary a crease forming on his brow.

"You killed the man."

"That was my mission."

"I see…" he nodded. "And what about the ANBU near the border."

"We got our lead from them, but when we arrived they were dead." Sasuke's eyes shifted around the room and once again found it devoid of the man's guards. "Their hideout had been infiltrated."

"Did any of you get a clue as to who could have done it?"

"No." he shifted his weight and watched Kakashi carefully. "Where are your guards?"

"Being reassigned."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man. "You're not telling me everything Kakashi, and I'm beginning to suspect that something's up with the ANBU."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. The boy had always been sharp. "Why do you say that?"

"Because _I_ couldn't have found that hideout but _someone_ did. So, you either have a mole or the people we're dealing with hired some good trackers. I need you to start explaining what's going on or I will find out on my own."

Sasuke looked out the window to the setting sun and sighed. He had hoped to leave early today but that didn't look to be the case. "Someone has been planning attacks on the ANBU, almost all of them occurred in their hideouts, and like you said, if you don't know where to look you can't find them. Moriyo and I are beginning to suspect a mole."

"Does Sayuri know?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, but I'm sure she'll figure it out soon enough."

"Who's the main target."

"We believe it's Konoha."

XXX

The door to her home slammed shut as she stumbled through. Barely managing to pull of her boots off with a pained groan. "Food…" she moaned as she pulled herself up and headed to the fridge. Taking out the necessary items for her meal she moved to turn on the stove when the pounding on her door stopped her. "Aww…" she whined and made her way back to her entrance. "I'm going, I'm going!" she announced as the pounding continued. Pulling the door open she nearly slammed it close at the sight of Sasuke Uchiha on the other side.

"What happened to you?" "What are you doing here?" the two asked talking over each other.

She felt Sasuke's eyes on her probably surprised to see her covered in scrapes and bruises. She on the other hand looked him over trying to figure out where he came from.

"I thought you left the village." She said, clearing her throat.

"I did, on a mission."

"Oh…well…Sakura and Naruto were looking for you."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"I was training." Well it was technically more like getting a beating, considering she was fending off the weapon's mistress and taijutsu expert at the same time. "Did you need something?"

"Yes." He held up a piece of paper, and upon closer inspection, Sayuri fumbled. "What on earth were you thinking?" He began, eyes narrowed on the young woman. "You went to _Orochimaru_ for _help_?"

"I didn't go to him." She fiddled with the sleeve of her top. "I sent him that in a message."

"You of all people should know better than to ask that man for help."

Sayuri frowned. "And how exactly did you end up with this!" she snatched the paper from his hand waving it at his face. "You went to see him too, didn't you!" when he didn't answer she scoffed. "So you're coming here to scold me about asking that man for help when you went to see him for god knows what!" she laughed. "That's _really_ hypocritical, don't you think Uchiha?"

"I know how to deal with him, you don't."

"I can handle myself."

"Not at the state you are now."

"I don't need you, Sasuke."

He glared at her and stepped forward, voice quieting down and dropping an octave. "Let me ask you this, if he had come here right now, would you have been able to fend him off?" he saw her bristle under his glare, her hand tightening on the door knob. "No, of course not because someone's chakra has been sealed. He only cares about himself, you can never be sure with that man because you don't know when he'll turn around and use that against you."

She knew he was right, heck she knew it was a gamble but she had to try. She was not going to sit back and wait it out. "I had to do _something_!" she hissed. "And you went to him for the same reason. You went to him for help, because you didn't know what else to do and it's not really fair that you came here to scold me for doing the exact same thing!"

"I'm only here to warn you that if you keep acting recklessly you are going to get hurt." He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Why can't you see that I'm not the bad person here?"

She felt her heart clench at the look of defeat in his eyes. "I know you're not." She whispered just barely loud enough for him to hear. "But I don't need you to protect me."

His eyes met hers for the first time in weeks since the night he saw her in the park. He figured that it was better to stay away from her but he couldn't stop. Just like the years before, he couldn't stay away. Not when they were children, not when he left the village, and not now. There was always something that drew him to her and he could never truly fight it off. And right now, being in front of her all he felt at piece. He had felt it with Naruto after their fight, but that was different, that was his brother even though he'd never admit it out loud. With her, it was something just a bit deeper.

"Sayuri, Sakura-"

"You should leave." She cut him off, gently pushing him back catching him off guard. He hadn't noticed that he had leaned closer to her. Stepping away, he watched her for moment more then turned around to walk back to town. Sayuri closed the door leaning her head against the door, hunger forgotten.

All she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears. Placing a hand over it she closed her eyes trying to calm herself down. _Why is it always him?_ She bit her lip at the question. How did he manage to get under her skin, and make her feel so vulnerable all at once?

XXX

Ichiraku was full that night, with the village prospering as it was people were going out to eat more. Naruto and Sakura talked with each other animatedly as they waited for their bowls when Sasuke arrived, startling the two.

"Sasuke!" the blonde exclaimed joyously, before frowning and waving a fist at the man's face. "What the hell! You left without telling us!"

"Naruto, calm down." The medic scolded.

"I had a mission."

"Eh?" the two exclaimed.

"Wait, does that mean you're back to being a Konoha ninja?" asked Sakura, hopeful emerald eyes on him.

"It was a favor for Kakashi."

"Oh."

Naruto watched the Uchiha carefully for a moment, then patted the seat to his left. "join us you look like you need it, bastard. OW!" he yelped rubbing his rib. "Aww, Sakura what'd you do that for?"

She cast a glare at the blonde "For being rude." Then turned to Sasuke with a smile. "Sit down Sasuke!" To their surprise Sasuke sat, Teuchi turned to the young man and was taken aback for a moment before the astonishment faded into a smile.

"What can I get for you?"

XXX

Sayuri walked out of the restroom, clean clothes on and towel in hand. She sighed in content as she padded over to her window. Drying her hair, she watched the village light up for the night and smiled, but it quickly faded.

"Well don't you look lovely." She dropped her towel and turned around to see Naoki on the other side of her bed.

XXX

"Hey guys!" Hajime greeted the members of team seven happily.

"Hajime!" the blonde greeted with just as much enthusiasm. "Diachi!" The brunette nodded and took a seat next to his friend. "Did you just get back from a mission too?"

"Yes." The two replied.

"I bet Sayuri was happy to see you two then."

"Oh we haven't see her yet." Hajime replied.

Diachi finished giving his order and turned to the three ninja. "We just finished talking to Lee and Tenten, apparently, she's been training with them and today was a little rough for her."

XXX

"How did you get inside the village?" she asked, inching closer to the window.

Naoki on the other hand smirked and vanished suddenly reappearing beside her, kicking her to the other side of the room. She cried out in pain and pushed herself up, sprinting to the exit only to be yanked back and have her head slammed unto her desk.

"I'm not here to kill you if that's what you think." He leaned into her ear as he held her torso down. "We had a feeling that you survived the fall, but we weren't sure…Not until your boyfriend came to us that is."

Sayuri, pulled out the kunai taped under the desk and swung her arm back, Naoki to pulled away enough for her to push herself up and punch his face making him to stumble further back. Adrenaline kicking in, she rushed to the door, slamming it shut behind her, as she ran down the hall, turning the corner into the kitchen.

"Come out, come out where ever you are." The man sang following her only to have a series of kunai flying his way as she snapped the wire that held them to her ceiling. The man easily avoided laughing at the attempt. "So you've rigged your home, interesting." Sayuri turned to run but found two other ninja in the room with her. "Smart girl." Naoki grinned. "But you didn't really think that I'd come here alone. Did you?"

XXX

"Hey, Hajime I heard you had a girlfriend."

"Yes." The man's eyes lit up. "She's a work though." He finished dejected.

Sakura giggled at the silver haired ninja's pout. "You must really like her."

"I'll say, he basically stalked her for the better part of two years." Diachi mumbled loud enough for the others to hear. Sakura and Naruto laughed as Hajime jabbed an elbow at his friend.

XXX

Sayuri blocked a kick to her head and swung herself over the man's neck, angling her body so that he fell back, jabbing the kunai down onto the man's chest. Only to be kicked aside by the second ninja. Standing up she grabbed Naoki's arm just as he was about to punch her and swung him to the other ninja, picking up the pan on the counter and hitting the ninja she stabbed over the head as he struggled to get up.

Sayuri let the pan go when Naoki landed a kick to her arm. Moving quickly, she dropped down to side sweep the man, having him hit the floor hard as moved to run only to have him yank her down, pushing himself on her, knees on her shoulders on hand on her throat.

"I see you've been training." He hissed.

"Help!" she cried out and he laughed above her.

"No one is coming to save you. In a little bit, everyone will be too busy to even think about you."

"Screw you!" she spat pulling on another wire sending senbon flying from her walls, stabbing his other companions in the process. Naoki shoved himself off her while the men crumpled to the ground as Naoki managed to deflect most of the needle instruments. Sayuri rolled over, yanking off a senbon that had stuck to her arm and gripping it tightly.

"I'm starting to get tired of this little game." Naoki frowned.

XXX

A loud explosion made everyone in Ichiraku's go silent, the low tremble was what got everyone to moving. The people in the establishment quickly ran out. The ninja staring at the cloud of smoke that rose to the sky.

"We're under attack!" someone yelled.

"Move!" Naruto ordered and everyone scattered. Ninja wearing all black swarmed into the village, throwing bombs wherever they went. The mellow village turned into a battle ground in a matter of seconds, as civilians ran to the shelter as fast as they could while their ninja engaged the invaders.

XXX

Sayuri kicked the man in the abdomen pushing him back as he rushed to her. He quickly disappeared and reappeared beside her grabbing her by her head and slamming it down on the counter. Sayuri groaned but managed to push aside the pain and to grab the knife on the counter and jab it through his free hand. Naoki cried out in pain pulling back enough for her to grab hold of his wrist and flipping him over her shoulder, throwing a kick at his elbow dislocating it. Below her the rogue wailed and fell forward.

Stumbling back from the blow to the head she regained her balance and headed to the living room. She reached her couch when she was kicked unto the small table at the center of her living room by a fuming Naoki. He held a kunai in his good hand as he loomed over her.

"You little bitch!" He snarled launching himself at her but she rolled away, just barely avoiding the man as he hit the destroyed table head first. Her hand met something solid, thinking quickly she picked it up, finding it to be her katana. Naoki rushed at her again and she quickly unsheathed it blocking his kunai with it. "I said I wouldn't kill you…" he pushed against her katana. "But I'm sure they won't mind if I bang you up a bit!"

"Get the hell away from me!" she yelled pushing him back.

XXX

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as one ninja headed for the Hokage's tower. The Uchiha quickly caught him with his Amaterasu, then turned to take down three other men with ease. All around them Konoha ninja and ANBU engaged their attackers to defend their village. Sasuke jabbed a punch into one man's gut and let him fall before him until something caught his eye.

He reached down and pulled the hood of the man, blood suddenly running cold. "Shit."

Diachi grabbed one ninja by the collar and slammed him onto the ground before he could land a blow on Sasuke. When he turned to see what had the Uchiha so distracted he froze. Light brown eyes shifted from the blonde man on the ground to Sasuke. "That's Itsuo!"

"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?!" Naruto exclaimed when he noticed that his friend had stopped fighting.

"They're Naoki's men!" Sasuke hissed.

"WHAT?!"

"We're not a target, this a distraction they're after Sayuri!"

XXX

Sayuri rolled out of the way, and pushed up jutting her katana forward towards the man who side stepped her, grabbed her arms and kneed her under her chin causing her to lose her grip on the sword. She fell back but pushed herself up, turning around as Naoki swung down slashing her abdomen. She cried out in pain, guarding her abdomen and doubling over as the blood seeped through her fingers and fell onto the wooden floor.

"While I can't say this wasn't entertaining. I'll have to cut things short." He grinned using the katana to make her tilt her head back, the cold metal grazing her neck. "You've caused me a lot of trouble."

Sayuri winced in pain as she stared up at the dark-haired man. "What do you want from me?"

Naoki laughed. "It's not me that needs you, it's my boss." He pressed the blade closer to her neck. "Don't worry you'll get to see him soon."

"Go to hell!" moving as quickly as she possibly could, she grabbed his wrist and elbowed his abdomen, then sent her first down onto his head yanking the kunai out of his grip, she brought it down into his chest hard enough to exit and stick onto the floor pinning him to it. Below her he sputtered blood and she fell back in a haze. Mismatched brown eyes on the man bleeding out before her.

"I…need help…" she panted, hand slamming on a small table next to her only to have it slide off when she attempted to push herself up, from the blood on her hands. She tried again this time using the wall and stepped towards the door body swaying as she did so.

She began to see lights, her vision dimming with each step she took. It was beginning to feel hard to breathe, each step had her almost gasping for air, until all she could feel was tired. She blinked and she was suddenly on the ground. When did she get here? Her breathing became uneven and short as she struggled to stay conscious.

XXX

Sasuke barely felt the cold air that hit him as he rushed back to Sayuri's house. He shouldn't have left her, he should have tried harder to talk to her, to make her listen.

 _Please be ok…_ He chanted as he neared her home. He landed on the sidewalk just a few feet away from her home and sprinted to the door trying to open it only to realize it was locked. "Sayuri!" he yelled banging on the door and when she didn't answer he stepped back to kick the door open. It didn't take much force to make it give way, as soon as the door was off its hinges he rushed forward. He only managed a couple of steps before froze and all Sasuke could see was blood and his dead mother.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called, finally having caught up with him. "Sayuri!" he yelled in alarm. That caught the Uchiha's attention.

Moving quickly he rushed to her side, gently turning her over, "Sayuri…"

"Sasu…ke…?" Her skin was too pale, her top was soaked in blood, and her limbs were weak. She tried to look at him but she couldn't focus her gaze. "Sasuke…"

"You're going to be ok." He tried to pick her up but quickly found that he couldn't and let out an angered cry. "Naruto!" he barked at the blonde who stopped staring and moved forward. "Take her to the hospital, Sakura should be there."

"Right!" the blonde was quick to pick up the young woman, breath hitching at the amount of blood that covered your clothes. "I got ya." The blonde quickly rushed out of the destroyed home in the direction of the hospital.

Sasuke slammed his fist against the floor, feeling useless for the first time since his family was murdered. He heard a faint chuckling and turned to the living room, seeing red. Standing up he walked into the room finding Naoki pinned down to the ground. "Did…you see her?" he laughed.

"You son of a bitch!" Sasuke knelt on him, punching the man hard. "You better pray that she lives, because if she doesn't…I'm going to make your death as painful as possible."

Naoki chuckled, still trying to breathe. "You…better hope…she dies." The man's laugh getting cut short by Sasuke's fist.

"Sasuke!" Diachi pulled the Uchiha back. "We need him alive." Sasuke cried out in frustration and pulled away from the brunette man. "Go to the hospital, make sure she's ok. I'll handle him." He pushed the man back. "Go."

Casting one last glance at the despicable man on the ground, wanting nothing more than to hurt him more than Sayuri had, he walked away. Naoki wasn't important right now. Sayuri was. He took to the roofs rushing towards the hospital noticing several people heading its way. He turned to the direction of the main gate, the explosion had stopped and he couldn't see anyone fighting. Turning back to the large white building he picked up his pace. Rushing through the doors and finding Naruto pacing back and forth in the waiting area.

"Naruto-"

"Sakura's with her, she's going to make sure Sayuri's ok." The concerned blonde placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's getting the treatment she needs."

Sasuke felt his body weaken, and he fell onto an empty seat. All the emotion and adrenaline he felt seeping out of him. "Sayuri…" he squeezed his eyes trying to get the image of you bleeding out on the floor out of his head. This was his worst nightmare. He was a little boy again, who found both of his parents murdered without being able to do anything about it. He clenched his jaw, hand fisting against his pants. _I'm sorry…_

 **A.N.**

 **And I'll leave you off here. Please review and let me know what you think! :)**

 **Until next time.**


	19. Breath

**A.N.**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do NOT belong to me. Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto.**

 **Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga/or anime are completely original.**

 **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Thank you!**

Breath

The room glowed green as the doctors worked tirelessly around the young woman on the table. Sweat rolled down Sakura's cheek, as she focused on repairing the damage done. Two others were aiding her in her efforts. Sakura's green eyes flickered to Sayuri's pale face.

"Ms. Sakura!" one of the nurses called as the bleeding, they had only just moments ago gotten under control, started all over again. She cursed under her breath, pushing more chakra focusing on clotting the area.

"We need to speed thigs up!" she ordered.

"She's crashing!" another nurse announced. Green eyes widened when they looked at the monitor.

"No, no, no!"

XXX

Moriyo paced outside the hospital room. A doctor stood before here holding a clipboard in his right hand.

"You need to make a decision soon. I'm afraid we can't wait any longer."

She stopped and bit her lip, hands clenching at her sides. "I know!" she snapped. Taking a deep breath she tilted her head up. "Do it." The doctor quickly turned on his heel, entering the operating room. She slammed her fist against the wall as soon as the door closed behind him. "Fuck!"

XXX

She smiled, feeling gentle fingers running through her hair, detangling it here and there. The brush of fingers against her scalp made her sigh in content. The cool grass against her legs swayed with a gentle breeze.

 _You're dying._

The echoing sound made her sit up with a start, the fingers pulling away as she did so. Instead they gently fell on her shoulders, pulling her against a warm back. That felt nice…comfortable. She let her eyes drift close.

 _It's too soon._

She opened her eyes again, wide and alert. "What?"

The person behind her leaned forward, warm breath tickling her ear. "Sayuri…" Chills ran down her back. The green meadow darkened, the trees closing in. The clear sky above her overtaken by the black of the night. The fingers on her shoulder tightened into a painful grip, the person behind her resting their head on her shoulder. "You're dying…" they chuckled. "But we can't let you do that."

The forest echoed with screams. Her hands felt wet. Eyes shifting to them, she found them covered in blood. The person nuzzled her neck and all she could do was sit, frozen in place.

"We need you for a little while longer." All she could see was black, the person at her back slid their hands down to intertwine with hers. "Consider it a gift."

Five figures stepped forward. "You are too valuable to lose." The fingers squeezed hers. The blood in her hands dripped onto the ground reaching out for the figures and wrapping itself around them. There was brief moment when the distant screams ceased, but it only lasted a moment, until the blood pulsed a bright red. The people before her struggled, her breath catching in her throat unable to look away. Their screams rising in volume with each passing second, until the red pulsing stopped and withdrew letting them fall to the ground before her.

The red liquid wound itself around her, behind her the body pressed down to keep her still.

"This will only take a moment."

XXX

They had been sitting in the waiting room for two hours. He clenched and unclenched his hands, eyes on the doors that led to the operating rooms. Doctors came and went, family members around them waited for news on their loved ones. The nurses at the counter tried to calm the yelling man asking about his wife.

He took a sudden, sharp breath, his heart rate picking up in sudden fear. Beside him, the blonde ninja shifted in his seat attention on him.

"Sasuke?"

"Something's wrong." He stood up determined to find the operating room when the doors swung open. Sakura looked up in surprise, bangs sticking to her face, looking more than exhausted.

"She's going to be fine." Her smile dropped at the sight of her teammates far off look. "Is everything alright?" green orbs slid over to Naruto who slowly made his way to his best friend.

"I need to see her."

The young woman blinked. "I-I'm sorry, she's in recover-hey!" she stumbled back as the Uchiha pushed past her. She quickly took a hold of his arm and spun him around, shoving him to the nearest seat. "You are not going in there Sasuke Uchiha! She is _my_ patient and she needs to rest. So you will wait."

He slapped her hand away, ignoring the hurt look she gave him and the angry growl that came from the blonde. "You don't understand! Something's not right!"

"If you're worried about her safety, Moriyo-sensei placed ANBU-"

"That's not it." He stood, eyes shifting to the hallway behind her. "I…Just let me see her." And then taking a deep breath he met the medics gaze. "Please."

Sakura pursed her lips, green eyes zeroing in on the man. "Fine." She sighed. "It's got to be quick though, understand." She raised her hand fingers spread out. "Five minutes. That's all you get." Sasuke gave her a firm nod and followed as she led the way, Naruto scrambling behind them. Sakura paused and looked over her shoulder. "Just him, Naruto."

"What!?" he began to whine but turned around, pouting and deciding to leave it alone for now.

"Mind telling me what's got you so anxious?" her voice carried over to him seeming louder than it was in the empty hallway.

"Gut feeling."

"Hm."

Her heels clacked with each step as they made their way to the busier side of the hospital. A nurse sat the counter at the center of the hall. She glanced up and smiled at Sakura, visibly winced when she saw Sasuke, then buried her nose back into her work. He spotted the room instantly. It was the only one with an ANBU stationed outside the door. The ninja was quick to look up turning his attention to Sakura in what he could only imagine being confusion behind the rooster mask.

"He's here to see her. Only five minutes." Sakura moved around the ninja and pulled the door open. She gestured for him to enter the room, casting him one last look. "I'll come get you when your time's up."

Sasuke heard the door close behind him with a soft click. Eyes on the young woman on the bed. He approached her quietly as if not to disturb her, something difficult to do as she was heavily sedated. His hand hovered over the ninja, wanting to touch but too nervous to do so. He shook it off and let his hand rest on her cheek, just beside the oxygen mask.

"You're alive." He murmured, thumb brushing the soft skin then paused. _Something's not right._ He activated his sharingan not knowing what to look for but…his eyes shifted to the coil in her center, his hand moved to settle over her abdomen but he pulled back recalling that was where her injury was. "Sayuri…" his only response was an exhale as she slept. He turned and headed for the door, pulling it open startling Sakura who leant against the wall.

"Is everything alright?" Sasuke blinked and nodded.

"Yes. I was worried over nothing."

"Well..." she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "…She was crashing. During the surgery, I was afraid that she would…but we got it under control. Maybe that's what you felt?"

He watched the sleeping ninja for another second. "I need a favor."

XXX

"We're not getting anywhere." Ibiki sighed, rubbing his temples. Moriyo narrowed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. "He doesn't want to answer any questions, we've used the Yamanaka's but they've come up empty. He wants to talk to her."

"No."

"I'm sorry. I know it's been a week and she still hasn't recovered, but you should consider it." The tall man bowed.

The dark haired woman slammed her fist on the table. "I should have just let him die."

"We needed answers."

"We need to end this."

"Moriyo…"

"It's fine." She sighed. "You can go, I'll figure something out. In the meantime, see if the Yamanaka's can dig a little deeper. No one's minds is completely closed off." Ibiki gave her a look. "The person who did this is not perfect. Find the weakness."

Moriyo swore that she was going to die young if she kept at this job. Her body sagged visibly in her chair, hands running through her hair. She knew she had to keep the man alive, they needed answers but he was turning out to be more trouble than what he was worth. What's more, he nearly killed Sayuri and ANBU were disappearing left and right. This couldn't be a coincidence.

The woman sat back, nibbling on the tip of her thumb. She quickly glanced at the clock on the wall opposite her, just past noon. _Good, Kakashi should be back._ She pushed off the chair and headed for the door.

XXX

Forrest…trees…cold hard ground. The wet grass pressed against her cheek, a weight digging into her back.

She woke up gasping for air, in a cold sweat. Her vision blurry, frantically sweeping from one end of the room to the other. She yanked off the mask, pulling it as far over her head as possible and breathed distantly she became aware of an alarm ringing. The door to the room soon opened letting the bright light of the hallway in, a young woman rushed to her side talking to her, asking questions that she did not understand nor did she want to. Instead Sayuri worked on catching her breath.

A hand on her shoulder had her snatching the wrist and pulling it off her, twisting the offending appendage. It was only when she heard a yelp from the woman that Sayuri came back to her senses and quickly let go.

 _Breathe._

She squeezed her eyes shut and continued to count.

"Sayuri?"

She blinked recognizing the voice. "Sa…kura…"

"Breathe. Come on, look at me." She said in a low steady voice. Sayuri turned to look at the pink haired woman. "Good, breathe with me." She began guiding the younger with the motions. "That's it." Then looked over her shoulder. "Get me a sleeping aid."

"I…" and that's when the tears began. Big, wet, and rolling down her cheeks and into her hair.

"You're at the hospital, I'm going to give you something to get you to sleep. You need rest."

"I'm scared."

"We won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

"No. My dreams…I can't stop seeing him." She trembled as the other nurse returned to the room eying the syringe in the young woman's hand. "Don't!" she shook her head. "He's always there."

"Oh, Sayuri…" Sakura looked visibly pained, gently she took her hand. "You need to sleep, but I'll be here, just in case you need me."

The thought that she was delirious came and went, her mind not really wanting to process anything other than fear, but she trusted Sakura, so she nodded her head and let sleep take her.

XXX

" **Are you going to ignore me now?" Sayuri jumped, startled for a moment and turned around to see Sasuke leaning against the wall of a building. She watched him walk out of the shadows and into the dim light of the alley, frowning down at her.**

" **I'm not ignoring you." She mumbled and managed two steps forward until she felt a grip in her arm.**

" **Sayuri…" gently he turned her to him. She bit her lip and looked to the side. "I didn't mean what I said. I was angry, but-"**

" **I think you were pretty clear, Sasuke." She pulled away. "And I was clear too." She made to walk away but turned back to the man. "Look, it's obvious that this…" she gestured between the two of them, "…whatever it is we're pretending to do or be, is never going to work out."**

 **Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the Marihasha. "So, that's it. You make up your mind about us and that's the end of discussion. You're not the only one involved you know."**

" **It's what's best…for both of us and you know it. We're better apart than together."**

" **Just because you say so?" He cut their distance so that he was looking directly down at her. Sayuri, stood her ground looking up defiantly at him. "You're just giving up? We haven't even dated, we just tip toe around the idea and do nothing about it. Both of us know that there's something there, yet you won't even let us try. And now you're giving up!"**

" **Exactly! We haven't and yet here we are, I made a stupid mistake that could have cost you your life and we're not even dating, Sasuke! We're not good for each other." She looked down, glaring at the ground as if it was the cause of all their problems. "Time has shown us that in several instances." She murmured.**

 **He reached for her then, watching with careful eyes as her body tensed. "What do you mean by that."**

 **She pulled back, avoiding his gaze. "I mean that it's better if we just remain friends."**

 **He frowned, drawing his hand back to his side clenching it into a tight fist. "Why don't you just tell me what you're really afraid of?"**

" **I'm afraid of you dying!" she snapped. "I'm of afraid of** my own **death!" She took a sharp breath lifting her head to meet his eyes with a fierce look. "This is just never going to work! They tried! Everyone of them tried, and you know what that got them? Killed! So, I'm sorry if that's not what I want for you** or **me!"**

 **Sasuke felt like he had been hit by a bucket of ice water. Quickly schooling his features to his normally stoic expression, he turned his back to her disappearing into thin air leaving her alone in the middle of the lonely alley. Angrily she brushed away the tears with the back of her hands and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry…" she said to the ground. "I just…"**

A warm hand on her arm drew her from the memory. She blinked her eyes into focus in the dimly lit room. The pain came soon after, leaving her out of breath in a second, and groaning at the next.

"Hey…shh…I've got you." That voice she recognized that voice. She forced her eyes open, bright green orbs looking down at her. "The medication will take effect in a bit." She brushed her hair out of her eyes and smiled.

"Sakura." Sayuri sighed.

"Was it a nightmare again?"

"They're not nightmares."

"Oh…right."

"It wasn't like the others." Sakura looked at her. "Not this time."

"Well that's good, right."

"Right."

Sakura reached for one of her hands and squeezed. "Hey, Sayuri…"

"Hm?"

"We're here for you…Naruto, Sasuke, and I. We want to help. Don't push us away."

"Even if it's for your own good?" Sayuri turned to her watching her carefully. "The three of you deserve to be happy. Don't let me stop you."

"But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Don't you deserve to be happy?" she paused. "Doesn't Sasuke?"

"Sasuke's already happy, he's got you."

"No. No he doesn't. We're not…I'm not with him."

Sayuri blinked, "What…?"

"I broke up with him in Suna."

"You what?" Not very eloquent, but the medication was starting to kick in and her brain was slowly becoming a jumbled mess.

"I broke up with him in Suna. We're not together…not like that." Sakura repeated, seemingly catching on that Sayuri just might need a little extra help understanding what was going on in the world.

Sayuri almost wanted to laugh. All this time she thougth that Sasuke had cheated on Sakura with her, and it turns out that Sakura broke up with him.

"You what?' Sakura asked.

Wait did she say that out loud?

"You did."

"Shit." She groaned. "What is this stuff."

"A very strong pain killer."

"Oh…"

Sakura squeezed her hand again drawing her attention. "Sayuri…do you love Sasuke?"

Sayuri blinked slowly up at Sakura. "I…" she hesitated. "I…"

Sakura's sad smile slowly brightened. "I thought I loved him, for the longest time, and I'm not going to lie to you it hurt when I realized that I'm not for him, but you… _you_ are. Don't let yourself be miserable, don't let him be either."

Sayuri squeezed Sakura's hand as best she could. "What about you?"

Sakura laughed and wiped her eyes at that. "I've got Naruto. I'm sure I'll be just fine."

"Naruto…" everything was starting to become foggy now.

"It's alright, go back to sleep." Sakura reached to pet her hair. "I'll still be here."

She began to feel herself drift out of consciousness again. "…Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"…Thank you…"

XXX

The next time she came too it was a lot less painful. She winced at the brightness, turning her head to the side, scrunching her brow as she did so. Everything felt like too much work, like every part of her body weighed a ton. Why was she so tired? Finally blinking her eyes open she first saw a white blur. Turning her head to the other side she saw a black one instead.

"Sasuke?" she said the first thing that came to her mind as she blinked the hazy feeling away.

"Not quite." A voice she had quickly come to recognize replied. With a groan, she turned her head back to face the ceiling, the lights finally coming into focus. "You look…" he paused considering his words. "…Tired."

"Hello, Sai." She looked down at herself, finding a white sheet over her, next to her a monitor that read her oxygen and pulse rate, and an IV running on her left arm. "Where's Sakura?"

"She had to step out for a bit. Were you dreaming about Sasuke?"

She turned to him with an ill attempt at a glare. "What makes you say that?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep?" All she wanted to do was hurl something at him to wipe the shit eating grin off his face but she was tired, and her body weighed a ton, and she was seeing double now. She huffed, letting her body slump back to a neutral position. "Well? Were you?"

"Yes." She sighed surprised at her own honesty. _Honest…when was the last time I was honest?_ "What are you doing here?"

He blinked, suddenly reverting to a neutral state. "I'm here as your body guard."

"Ugh! I don't want one."

"I'm afraid you don't have the authority to refuse."

"I already have two body guards. I don't need another."

"If you're talking about Hajime and Diachi, they've been reassigned. You'll have to settle for me."

"I hate you." She sighed and looked back down a the IV with a pout. Whatever they were giving her for the pain was working, but it reduced her inhibition. She didn't like it. "Go away." Or maybe she did. Her addled mind had yet to decide.

"Like I said I can't do that."

"Oh, for fucks sake, just…bring Moriyo, I'll tell her."

Sai shook his head holding a glass of water and sitting her bed up. When did he do that? She wondered as she took a sip, her hands trembling as she attempted to hold the glass. "I feel like crap." Sayuri stared up at the former ROOT member. "I probably look it too."

"Would you like a hug?" her eyebrows shot up at his reply. "I read in a book that when people feel down that they may want a comforting embrace."

"What I want is the comfort of solitude."

"That hardly sounds comforting."

"Trust me, solitude and I have become _very_ good friends." She laughed but stopped with a groan. Laughing hurt. She wasn't even aloud to laugh. Her life was awful! "God, if my ten-year-old self could see me now."

Sai tilted his head to the side, black eyes staring down at her as if trying to piece a puzzle together. "From what I was told you were a happy child."

"Yeah," she huffed in self depreciation. "Life has a funny way of ruining everything good in this world…" then feeling particularly nasty she added, "…You should know. It hasn't been very kind to you either…ROOT."

Sai blinked, taken aback. To her surprise he didn't lash out, or leave like she'd expected (half hoped) he'd do. "You and Sasuke are similar." He reclined the head of her bed, making her comfortable.

At that she snorted. "Really? Enlighten me."

"You both push people away, the only difference is that while he is moving forward. You're moving back." He turned on his heel and headed for the door ignoring the glare the auburn-haired ninja directed at him. "I'll leave you to your solitude, if you need me I'll be right outside your door." Sayuri felt mildly insulted but she couldn't bring herself to reply, finding it difficult to keep her eyes open she drifted back to sleep.

XXX

The sudden sharp laugh cut through the silence of the cell. The ANBU standing guard at the door managed to hide their flinch, as the man that was strapped to the chair cackled. He hunched over the table shoulder shaking, hair falling over his face.

"Those tactics won't work on me." He finally said, tilting his head to the side to look Ibiki in the eye. "You think you can break me." He laughed. "Oh please."

"Fine," the large man pulled out the chair on the other side of the table. "…let's make a deal then, Naoki."

"Oh?" he sat back, amusement glinting in his eyes.

"A lighter sentence for information on who your boss is."

Naoki smirked. "I honestly can't tell you shit. There's a chain of command and I'm just not… _up there_ yet. And even if I was, I wouldn't tell you a thing."

"Fine, how about your mission. What did you want with Sayuri?"

"Tell you what." He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "You bring her here to me, and I'll tell _her_ what I know. I do have a soft spot for pretty girls."

Ibiki pushed his chair back, the metal scratching the floor loudly. "Put him back in his cell." He said to the ANBU at the door.

"Are you going to go fetch her, big g-" Naoki slumped forward as he was knocked out before being pulled to his feet.

"Sir." A monkey masked ninja stepped forward as he exited the room.

"I need to talk to Moriyo, stay behind and see if you can get anything out of the other men."

"Yes, sir!"

XXX

The sun was setting as he stood outside the door to the hospital room. Sai was leaning against the wall opposite the door, book in hand, pretending not to be analyzing the Uchiha. When another minute passed by and Sasuke was still outside the door, the former ROOT member dropped his hand to his side, bringing the book down with him.

"It's been two weeks."

Sasuke closed his eyes taking a deep breath. "I don't recall asking."

"Right." The man brought his book back up, peeking over the rim as the Uchiha opened the door letting himself in. "You've got it bad." He mumbled, flipping to the next page, ignoring the glare he got from Sasuke just before he shut the door.

He sighed and turned to his left where Sayuri lay. Sakura had told him that she had been in and out of consciousness, it was taking a while longer for her to recover from the blood loss, she had begun running a fever on her second day, but the medic assured him she was making steady progress. Quietly he approached her bedside, taking a seat on the chair beside it. He watched her for a minute taking solace on her steady breathing. Slowly he reached for her hand, fingers moving to close around it.

"Mmm…sorry…" she mumbled, her brow scrunching up for a second and smoothing out just as quickly. He bowed his head to their joined hands.

"I'm the one who's sorry." Her fingers twitched under his palm. She began to murmur but he couldn't quite string together her fragmented words. _I'll be better…stronger. So that this doesn't happen to you again._ There was a knock on the door before it opened.

"Sasuke?" Sakura stepped through the dim orange-red light that filtered through the blinds lighting up her features. "It's ready." Sasuke tilted his head in acknowledgement, turning his gaze back to the sleeping konoichi one last time. Slowly he pushed himself up and followed the medic down the hall ignoring the curious look Sai cast at him.

XXX

"Try moving your fingers for me." Sakura ordered, narrowed eyes sliding down the arm to the digits. Naruto leaned around her, hands in pockets waiting for the twitch, while Sasuke furrowed his brow, willing them to move.

"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed at the slight twitch. "You did it, bastard!" he grinned.

"Do it again, until it becomes more fluid." Said the medic, hands hovering over Sasuke's new arm. "I'm still connecting nerve pathways so you'll feel a slight stinging sensation, but it won't be anything you can't handle."

Sasuke nodded in understanding and continued forcing his fingers to move, occasionally feeling a jolt run down the length of his arm, but he welcomed the pain. It meant he had sensation to the arm, it meant that the implant was working after three days of therapy. It took another forty minutes before Sakura was satisfied for the day and pulled back, letting Sasuke look at his arm flexing the fingers with more ease that before but not completely without problems. It took a lot of effort to keep his fingers flexed, it was both frustrating and exhilarating.

"It feels…like it's tingling."

"That's to be expected." Sakura replied, pulling her hair out of the ponytail. "Your chakra is starting to seep in to it. It is, after all, a foreign part of your body right now."

"When I got it done, it tingled for months!" Naruto grinned putting his hands behind his head. "It settled down after a while."

"Keep channeling chakra through that arm gradually, remember, doing it all at once might blow the chakra vessels and I'd have to rebuild new ones, not to mention that it'll be a very painful experience."

"Got it."

"I want you to use the sling when you're not practicing with it. And as far as exercise goes, the more you use it the shorter the tingling feeling will last, but be careful, that hand might feel weak for while too. Naruto couldn't even hold a slip of paper the first couple of weeks."

"Hey!"

Sasuke smiled at the two, colorful ninja. Looking down at his hand he clenched and unclenched it gradually getting used to the feeling of having his left arm back. The image of Sayuri laying in a pool of blood came to mind and he frowned hand clenching tightly. _I won't let it happen again._

"Sasuke?" he tilted his head up, meeting the concerned gazes of his teammates. Sakura was the first one to react, a sigh escaping her lips as she took a seat on the rolling chair, running fingers through her pink hair. "I said that she's being discharged today."

Sasuke hummed. "Where will she stay?"

"I'm sure Moriyo-sensei worked something out."

XXX

"You must not push your body too much." The doctor advised. The clock on the wall behind him ticking as each second passed by. She had been in the hospital for almost three weeks. Three weeks while they monitored her and kept visitors away…or so she'd like to think because she hadn't received any visitors in those twenty one days. It was better than thinking that her so called friends forgot about her, leaving her to her thoughts… _Or I brought on myself._ She frowned at the depreciating thought.

"I'm warning you," Sayuri blinked attention back to the older gentleman. "…You lost a lot of blood so training is off the table for the next 2 weeks. Do you understand?"

"Ah." She acknowledged with a slight jerk of her head. "No training, got it."

"Lady-" he cleared his throat at the raised brow he got from the ninja. "…Sayuri, please, I do not want to see you back in the hospital again."

"Then tell that to the people actively trying to kidnap-slash-murder me." The startled, wide eyed look on his face made her laugh. She waved at him and headed for the door, her mood shifting to that of annoyance at the ninja leaning against the wall. He was not who she expected, or wanted, to see.

"Ready to go, Sayuri?" Sai was quick to followed her down the hall, not really expecting a response from her. He watched her carefully when they reached the lobby, one of her hands tightening around the silver stair rail, the other reaching for her head. "Would you like to sit?" The young woman shook her head and steeled herself.

"I'm a bit dizzy, it'll pass." She waved him off and took a deep breath, heading for the door offering the people walking by a small smile.

"Sayuri…"

"What?" she mumbled feeling the cool air for the first time in weeks. She allowed herself a moment of peace.

A hawk circled above them catching their attention. Sai frowned, recognizing the bird. _What could the Hokage want with her now?_

Sayuri raised a brow. "It's a summons."

"Right." The two turned in the direction of the tower and made their way there. Stopping occasionally to let Sayuri catch her breath. He still wasn't comfortable with the discharge order, Ino had told him that she needed more time to rest, but Sayuri had been insistent and three weeks was as much as they could push the younger woman to stay. Clearly the blond had been correct, he thought pretending not to stare as Sayuri paused halfway up the stairs. _Are all women this stubborn?_

Sai knocked on the door, hearing a quiet enter from the other side before pulling it open. Sayuri stepped in followed behind by her new bodyguard. The ANBU narrowed her eyes at the sight of Moriyo against the window while Kakashi sat back, fingers laced together waiting for Sai to close the door behind him.

"Lord Hokage." Sayuri bowed politely. "Captain."

"Sayuri," the man nodded. "I'm glad to see you're alive and well."

"Yeah, well they didn't exactly come to kill me."

"And that's what I want to talk about." Moriyo began slowly.

Sayuri tilted her head to the side, crossing her arms over her chest, the gesture making her look vulnerable. "Sensei?"

"Naoki is alive." Kakashi began. "The medics managed to save him."

"They what?" she hissed, voice low.

"Sayuri…"

"You mean to tell me that I fought tooth and nail to take down this man and you go on and save him anyway?!" She took a step forward. "He attacked the village and you decided it was a good idea to keep him _alive_?!"

"We needed answers." Replied Moriyo attempting a calm tone.

"And how is that going? Let me guess he won't talk. You want to know why? Because he's a lunatic who does what he's told so long as he's getting paid! He doesn't even know who the leader of his group is! You'd know this if you bothered paying attention to my report instead of punishing me for messing up!"

"Sayuri…stand down."

"No!" she growled. "This…this…man came into _my_ house, brings along his friends and tries to _kidnap_ me and you decide to keep him _alive_?! Are you _fucking_ kidding me!"

"Sayuri." Sai called out in warning.

"Shut up!"

"Naoki's in the interrogation unit. He wants to talk to you. Now Ibiki thinks that we should go ahead and take you to him. I want to give you the option."

"No." she said slowly, glowering at the woman. "You want him to talk do it yourself." Sayuri turned, pushing past Sai to get out of the room. She couldn't breathe. She needed air. She couldn't stand looking at Moriyo, Kakashi, or Sai or anyone. She needed to get out.

She practically bolted out of the room, a ringing in her ears as she rushed down the stairs turning the corner and slamming into someone hard. The air was knocked out of her lungs as she stumbled back, hands to her chest, sharp gasp on her lips. She barely registered the hands on her shoulders, steadying her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut. _I can't breathe!_

"Look at me." The voice broke through the loud ringing. "Open your eyes." She did, but was unable to focus on one thing. "Breathe with me. 1…2…3…4…" Her breath sputtered but she followed the command watching the chest in front of her expand and contract in a slow rhythm.

 _In…out…_ Her hands curled around the fabric of her shirt as she continued to breathe. _In…_ There were voices, people arguing, but she was too tired to care what about. _Breathe._

"What did you say?"

"Naoki-"

"None of you could have let her rest?"

"I advised it, yes."

"Next time do a better job." They hissed and she finally looked up.

"Sasuke." The man turned his attention back to her, gaze softening from the angered frown he was making only a moment ago.

"Are you hurt?" She shook her head slowly. He stepped back letting her go, but she was quick to catch one of his hands holding it tightly. "Sayuri?"

"Take me somewhere?" Sasuke blinked down at her, eyebrows dipped in concern. He cast a brief glance at the man behind her.

"Alright."

 **A.N.**

 **So sorry! I got into a major slump and I could not figure out how to continue this chapter. This thing has been sitting on my computer for months and I felt horrible. I hope this meets your expectations and if it didn't I apologize. I'm already working on the next chapter, hopefully this one will be quicker to finish. As always, please, please, PLEASE comment and let me know what you think. For those of you who actually kept up with this story even after all this time, thank you!**


End file.
